Dark Future
by StarcatcherAD
Summary: Chapter 8: It's another beautiful day in the real world as Davis tries to deal with living a normal life as well as defending the Digital World. And things only get better when he makes a new friend and goes head to head against Ken in...Duel Monsters?
1. Prologue: The Truth

Starcatcher: My first full blown Digimon fic...I hope it goes okay...  
  
EA (Evil Author): Will we get to kill TK?  
  
Starcatcher: No.  
  
EA: DAMMIT! Will Davis and Kari get together?  
  
Starcatcher: It all depends...there's gonna be a lot of irony in this.  
  
EA: Irony fuuuuuun...  
  
Starcatcher: Uh...yeah. Anyway, this is my Davis and Veemon story. Meaning neither of them will be bashed. Now lesse...there's going to be Takari, Sorato, Taimi, one-sided Daikari, Patagato, and one-sided Veegato at the beginning; as well as one-sided Takari, Hisuke, one-sided Miyasuke, Taiora, Yamajun, Kenyako, Gatovee, and one-sided Patagato.  
  
EA: ALL of that? How?  
  
Starcatcher: You'll see...now for the Disclaimer!  
  
EA: Starcatcher does not own Digimon or any of its characters. In other words, she owns NOTHING except the plot. I also don't own Digimon...but Davis is mine!  
  
Davis: WHAT!?!  
  
EA: (Glomps Davis)  
  
Davis: (Sweatdrops) Why can't you just hate me like all the other authors do?  
  
Starcatcher: Do you REALLY want her to hate you?  
  
Davis: (Sighs) Nevermind...  
  
(Three figures glare at EA.)  
  
Davis: Who are they?  
  
Starcatcher: (Grins) You'll see...  
  
********************  
  
Kari finds herself standing with the others back when they defeated Myotismon the first time. They thought it was over when a dark figure appears.  
  
"Who are you?" Tai demanded. The Digimon stood in front of their partners, blocking the figure if it should try to harm them.  
  
"I am the one who shall become the true master of all worlds!"  
  
Kari stepped back in fear. The amount of darkness radiating off the figure was enormous. It reached out and a dark mist came from its hand and began to head towards the Digidestined. Kari felt the darkness within it begin to engulf her. She screamed.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Kari woke up, gasping. It was that dream again. For the past few nights, she had been dreaming that back after they thought they had defeated Myotismon the first time, a powerful evil Digimon appeared and attacked them. She shuddered, wondering why she would be dreaming such strange things if they never happened. Sighing, she gave up on going back to sleep and decided to read a book.  
  
However, she found that she couldn't concentrate enough on the book either. She sighed again and nearly screamed in frustration. She's been having that same dream for a while now. She never knew what happened because if she didn't wake herself up, somemone, mainly Tai, would come and wake her up instead. Maybe if she could just see the rest of what happened, then she could finally just put it to rest. But she couldn't understand why she kept having that nightmare. Nothing like that happened after the fight with Myotismon.  
  
Which brought her thoughts to the present. After the final battle with MaloMyotismon a couple of years ago, things were peaceful for the Digidestined. She and the others were now 16 and in high school. Matt and Sora had been together for a while now. Tai finally got over Sora with the help of Mimi, who he has been dating for a few months already. Izzy seemed to be interested in Davis's sister, Jun, who finally stopped chasing Matt and calmed down a bit. Yolie and Ken were together and appeared to be pretty happy. All the younger kids were now in high school, while the older ones were in college.  
  
As for Kari, she was spending a lot of time with TK, and they were now a couple. They would have done so earlier if it wasn't for what happened. About a year after saving both worlds, Davis and Veemon mysteriously disappeared. Days, weeks, months passed and there was still no sign of them and no idea of what could have happened to either of them. Davis's family said they last saw him rushing to get to the school to meet up with the other Digidestined. But they had gotten tired of waiting and left without him. Kari felt really bad about this because she had seen the two right outside the school heading in when they decided to go ahead and leave, but she didn't say anything.  
  
Then, finally, after several months, Veemon came back, but Davis was still missing. Veemon wouldn't say anything about what happened, but apparently, he didn't know where Davis was either. Everyone became even more worried. If Veemon was with him, Davis would be protected, but if he was alone...who knew what could happen to him. Their fears were finally put to rest when a bit less than a year after they first disappeared, Davis returned. But something had changed. He was different in a way she couldn't understand. But even so, they all still treated him the way they did before, which seemed to be angering the boy and his Digimon. But no one took any notice of it. It was Davis and Veemon after all.  
  
She smiled. She had finally been able to pursue a relationship with TK. Everyone kept saying they would be the perfect couple. However, she was a bit worried. She expected Davis to go ballistic when he found out, yet he didn't. His reaction was still pretty funny though. He was drinking some water at the time they told him and started choking. Everyone thought it was funny, but managed to hold back their laughter until after he left. Ken didn't seem to happy about it though, but Yolie was there so he stuck with her. Ever since then though, Kari heard that Davis has been taking regular trips to the Digital World on his own with Veemon. She was a bit worried, but oh well. Davis would just have to accept the fact that he just couldn't compete with TK.  
  
Speaking of which, she had a date with TK tomorrow. Smiling at the thought, she yawned and finally fell into a calm sleep, not knowing that there was more to that dream she had than she thought.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The next day...  
  
It was an ordinary diner. The white tiled floors and many windows gave it an open atmosphere. It was a bit chilly inside, but the sunlight from the windows helped to warm it up a bit. There were a few customers, but not so many as the evening rush was still a few hours away. It was the type of place where no one would take much notice of the young boy and his blue dragon Digimon sitting off by themselves. Well...almost no one.  
  
Kari and Gatomon entered the diner. It was a bit early, but they felt like having a bite to eat when they saw some familiar faces. Grinning, Kari walked over to the young boy and Digimon seated in the corner, Gatomon following her, a bit tired.  
  
"Hey Davis! Veemon! How have you been?" Kari asked the two.  
  
"Fine." The goggled boy stated.  
  
"Would you mind if we sit here?" Kari asked, already knowing what the answer would be. Davis Motomiya was crazy about her. He'd probably give her the world if he thought it would please her.  
  
Davis grinned a bit sheepishly. "Sorry, but...we're sorta waiting for someone."  
  
Kari's smile fell, but only for a moment as she almost instantly had her cheerful expression on again. "Oh...I see. Well I guess we'll see you guys later." She stated, a bit saddened as she and Gatomon left. 'I don't get it. Normally, he would be doing anything to sit with me. I wonder if something's up. Maybe he's worried about something..."  
  
'Or maybe he's finally gotten over you...' A voice came from the back of her mind.  
  
Kari frowned and shook it off, heading over to another table to wait for her boyfriend.  
  
Davis sighed. Normally, he'd thought he'd have to be crazy to pass a chance with Kari, but...he didn't want her here in case this meeting he had with a stranger involved what he thought it would. But there's just no way it could involve THAT! The only ones who even knew about it were himself and Veemon...and even Veemon didn't know everything.  
  
Veemon looked up at his partner, a bit worried. Davis has been acting strangely ever since he came back. Of course Veemon knew most of what happened...but in the end, Davis went through some sort of trial alone...and he had no clue what it could have been.  
  
At this moment, a girl and a strange Digimon stood at the table. "Davis Motomiya I presume?" Davis nodded, and the two took the seat across from the child of Miracles and his dragon Digimon.  
  
"So...are you the one who called us here?" Davis asked.  
  
The girl nodded. "Yes. My name is Tenshi Mino. This is my partner, Lunamon." She stated, introducing her Digimon. Lunamon looked like a mix between Espeon and Umbreon (From Pokemon). Her skin was a dark purple and there was a yellow crescent moon mark on her forehead. Her ears were the same as Umbreon's, while her tail was split at the end like Espeon's. (Not much of a point, but it would make more sense if she had a Digimon too.)  
  
"And I'm Davis Motomiya. This little guy is my partner, DemiVeemon. But you already know that. Now would you mind explaining why you wanted to see us?"  
  
Tenshi nodded. "I want to know the truth."  
  
Davis looked at her blankly for a moment. "The truth? About what?"  
  
The girl pulled out a folder and tossed it on the table right in front of Davis. Opening the folder, he found several strange looking pictures and some papers. "I have proof that you were involved with all of these incidents. I want to know what it was about and why you look exactly the same during each of them."  
  
Davis sighed. "Man...you're pretty smart. None of the other Digidestined have even suspected a thing, but you don't even know me and you figured all this out. I'm impressed."  
  
Tenshi grinned. "Thank you. But lets not get off track. Would you care to explain exactly what happened during the time you two disappeared?"  
  
Davis shrugged. "All right...fine. After all, I guess all your hard work in finding this information shouldn't be in vain."  
  
DemiVeemon looked up at his partner, not believing what was about to happen. "Are you sure Davish?"  
  
The boy nodded. "I guess it's about time someone else knew what happened." He looked over at Tenshi, a bit wary. "By the way...does anyone else know about this?"  
  
"No. Just Lunamon and myself. I didn't think I should cause a big scene that could turn out to be wrong."  
  
Davis smiled slightly. "Smart. Fine then, I'll tell you. But what you are about to hear must NEVER be repeated to anyone, understand?" He saw the girl and her partner nod. "Good. You see...it all started a year after we defeated MaloMyotismon. I was 15 at the time. Our group was planning on a trip to the Digital World to finish up the last bit of rebuilding we would have to do. There was also going to be a big party to celebrate. I had woken up late that day. And that's pretty much where the whole trouble started..."  
  
********************  
  
Starcatcher: And that was the prologue. Nice huh?  
  
Davis: That pretty much means that nobody died...at least no one in the Digimon cast died...that I know of...  
  
Evil Author: Which means Davis lives! (Glomps Davis)  
  
Davis: (Sighs)  
  
Three Persons: (Glare)  
  
Davis: So this is basically going to be about what happened when Veemon and I disappeared all that time?  
  
Starcatcher: BINGO!  
  
Veemon: But what about the others?  
  
Starcatcher: They're in it too...just in a different way...  
  
Evil Author: I KNOW HOW!  
  
Starcatcher: Don't say anything!  
  
Evil Author: It's...  
  
Starcatcher: I'm warning you...  
  
Evil Author: ^_^  
  
Davis: Bye folks! 


	2. Chapter 1: It Only Takes a Minute

Starcatcher: Hello again everyone.

EA: (Fuming) TWO! TWO LOUSY REVIEWS! COME ON PEOPLE! YOU CAN DO BETTER THAN THAT!

Starcatcher: Uh...yeah...anyways, the main couple is Daikari. Then there's Taiora, Yamajun, a bit of Miyasuke, Kenyako, and...just for the heck of it...Mimi with...er...either Joe or Izzy...haven't decided.

Davis: But what about all those other couples you mentioned?

Starcatcher: These couples are in the story itself.

Davis: O...kay...

Starcatcher: Confused? You shouldn't be much longer.

EA: And this is not under any circumstances, a ripoff of Psycho G's Digimon 02: Endgame. It may seem similar...but it's different! DIFFERENT I SAY!

Kari: (Rolls eyes) Whatever...

EA: (Glares at Kari)

Kari: (Glares at EA)

Davis: (Backs away) Uh...okay...

Starcatcher: Disclaimer please people!

Kari: Starcatcher doesn't own Digimon. If she did, the series wouldn't have ended as badly as it did.

EA: However, she does own the plot...and I own Davis! (Glomps Davis)

Davis: Not this again!

Kari: HEY!

Starcatcher: Oh boy...lets just start, shall we? Oh, and the prologue in the last chapter really doesn't matter much. In fact, I'm thinking of scrapping it altogether. So lets just start the story he was telling...

Davis awoke to a loud buzzing sound. Grumbling, he turned it off and forced himself to get out of bed. His room was a complete mess, as usual, but it couldn't be helped. Yawning, he started to get ready to meet the others at the school so they could all go to the Digital World together.

He glanced at the clock, then turned to get his shirt before spinning around to look at the clock again. They were supposed to meet at 9:00, and the clock said it was now 8:40. But he had set his alarm for 8:00 so he would have plenty of time to get ready and reach the school. He shook his head, deciding he'd check that later, but for now, he had to hurry or he'd be late!

After he finished changing into presentable clothes, he grabbed the still snoozing DemiVeemon and gently put him in his backpack and rushed out the door. He only had fifteen minutes before the meeting. He rushed from his apartment, down the stairs, and to the entrance of the building. Pushing open the building, he was met with the common flow of cars and people. Pushing past some and trying to avoid running into anyone, he ran towards the school.

He was only a few blocks away from his destination when someone pushed him into the road, right into the path of an oncoming car. Fortunately, he stumbled forward quickly enough to avoid being hit. Once he was safely on the other side, he paused for a second and looked around in confusion. He had the strangest feeling that someone was watching him. Looking around, he could have sworn he saw someone in the crowd on the other side of the street looking directly at him, but it disappeared a moment later. He stood still for a moment longer, then shrugged. Figuring it was nothing, he continued running until he finally reached the school.

Looking up at the window in which the computer lab was supposed to be, he saw Kari, who seemed to be laughing about something. He smiled at the sight of her, thinking how beautiful she was. She didn't see Davis though, and her focus mainly stayed on the person in front of her...TK.

Davis frowned and shook his head. Why did she always have to hang around TK? Why did she always agree with TK? He knew her longer, but she completely ignores him. He sighed and made his way into the building.

It was at this time the DemiVeemon poked his head out of the backpack, fully awake. "We're gonna be late!"

"Don't worry. We're just a minute late. There's no way they would leave without us!" Davis stated as he continued running to the computer lab holding DemiVeemon.

A minute later, Davis reached the computer lab and opened the door, smiling, expecting to see the others. His smile fell when he realized that they weren't there.

"I can't believe they left without us!"

"I told you!" DemiVeemon.

Davis frowned. "Man...couldn't they have waited just a few more minutes? Really!" Davis sighed and shook his head. "Oh well...we'd better go catch up!" With that, he held his D3 to the computer. "Digiport open!"

And with a bright flash of light, the portal opened and sucked them in. However, something strange happened at this time...something that would alter their lives forever.

At that precise moment, in the Dark Ocean, Daemon had just found something very old...and extremely dangerous. What was it? It was...

A door. Yeah, stupid, huh? What could be so dangerous about a door of all things? Well, besides walking into it, but all that would do is leave a bruise. However, this was no normal door...it was just standing right in the middle of the beach at the Dark Ocean for crying out loud! What could be normal about that?

"Finally...after all this time, I shall have my revenge..." Daemon laughed evilly as the door opened, revealing what appeared to be some strange blue space. He stepped through the door, which instantly closed behind him, glowing to signify the change that was about to occur...a horrible change that would affect both worlds and everyone in them...

Almost immediately, the worlds completely transformed almost beyond recognition. Some people and Digimon disappeared while new ones popped up seemingly out of nowhere. Most who remained began to change until they were barely recognizable. The Digital World was completely covered by darkness, and the Real World wasn't the same safe, normal place it once was. And the strangest thing of all...

No one noticed a thing.

Well...almost no one...

Davis and Veemon finally got through the portal and reached the Digital World. However, they noticed instantly that something was not right. The sky seemed darker somehow and the normally lavish area seemed barren and empty. "Davish? Did something happen to the Digiworld while we were gone?"

"No clue. I wonder if the others have any idea what's going on. We'd better go look for them." Davis suggested. He shuddered for a moment before starting off, unsure of why. He couldn't explain it...but he felt as though something was different...almost...wrong, in a sense. He shrugged it off and headed towards the area where the group was supposed to be headed, hoping to catch up to them and maybe get some answers...

"We didn't have any idea what we were getting into when we first started out. We just thought maybe there was some sort of minor problem. But it was more than that...in fact, we were about to have a lot of problems."

"What do you mean?"

"Well...you know that old saying, 'Don't go looking for trouble?' We didn't have to...it found us..."

Starcatcher: There. Done. And if I don't get more reviews, this might not go much farther.

EA: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! You've GOTTA continue!

Starcatcher: We'll see. Review please. 


	3. Chapter 2: I Knew I Should Have Stayed I...

Starcatcher: It's that time again...  
  
EA: Hey! When are you gonna get started on your other stories? You haven't finished one yet!  
  
Starcatcher: I'm almost done with "Operation: BASH VIDEL". I'm just adding the finishing touches now and it should be out before the end of next month.  
  
EA: (Rolls eyes) Suuure...so what's gonna happen this time?  
  
Starcatcher: More stuff...strange things happen...Davis and Veemon finally realize something's wrong with the world.  
  
EA: (Reads the fic) HEY! WAIT A MINUTE!!! This is short! And you end it with--(Falls forward, knocked out from behind by Kari, weilding a large mallet)  
  
Kari: Davis is mine! MIIIIIINE!!!  
  
Davis: Oh boy...(Backs away slowly, then runs off)  
  
EA: (Wakes up and chases after him) WAIIIT!!! COME BAAACK!!!  
  
Kari: HEY! LEAVE HIM ALONE!!! (Chases after them)  
  
Starcatcher: (Sighs) Oh for the love of...anyways, enough of this! Now for the Disclaimer...  
  
Veemon: Starcatcher does not own Digimon or any characters related to Digimon except for Tenshi and Lunamon, who don't count anyways because they really don't do much in the fic.  
  
********************  
  
"It's things like this that make me wish I hadn't gotten up in the morning..."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Well...at first, we really didn't realize there was something wrong. Sure, things seemed different, but we didn't think much of it. After all, the fight against MaloMyotismon was over...we've been at peace for a year or two now. Though I had to admit, I sort of missed the fighting...all of us working together...it was fun. It had even gotten to the point where we went to the Digital World frequently to search for any disturbances, just for something to do. Weird as it seemed at the time, we really came to be thankful for the extra practice and experience after what happened next..."  
  
"What did happen next?"  
  
"We first realized something was wrong after finding a Koromon being attacked by some Tyranomon..."  
  
####################  
  
Davis and Veemon had been wondering around for a while, unsure of what was going on. They had reached the spot where the others were supposed to be headed, yet they found no trace of anyone...then there was also the fact that the area looked like a barren wasteland. Confused, they traveled around trying to find the nearest town but had gotten themselves hopelessly lost in a dark, desolate forest. Right when Davis was close to shouting out in frustration, they heard a cry for help. The two immediately rushed to the scene where they found several Tyranomon surrounding something, which turned out to be an injured Koromon. And it didn't look like the Tyranomon were there to help it.  
  
To their shock and anger, one of the Tyranomon put it's foot over the Koromon, looking as though it's about to squish the poor thing. Unwilling to just stand by and do nothing, Davis and Veemon jumped out and into plain sight. "HEY! LEAVE HIM ALONE!!!" Davis shouted.  
  
The Tyranomon who held his foot over the Koromon was apparently the leader. Angry that anyone would dare to order him around, he turned to face who it was that spoke. That's when, to their horror, they saw that the Tyaranomon all had Dark Rings! "What the...?" Davis gasped. The Tyranomon all looked at Davis and Veemon in confusion, not attacking for some reason. "Let's get rid of those things, Veemon! Digi-Armor Energize!"  
  
"Veemon armor digivolve to...FLAMEDRAMON! The fire of courage!" And where Veemon was only a second ago, now stood Flamedramon. "Fire Rocket!" He fired off his attacks at the Tyranomon, aiming for the Dark Rings around thier necks. But they retaliated and shot their own attacks back at Flamedramon, who dodged just in the nick of time while Davis rushed forward and grabbed the Koromon, bringing him to safety.  
  
"Don't worry little guy...you'll be okay!" Davis assured him. However, the poor thing just shook, unable to speak. "Flamedramon, blast those rings!"  
  
"You got it! Fire Rocket!!!" And with another attack, the Dark Rings were destroyed, freeing the Tyranomon, who all stared at each other in confusion.  
  
"What happened?" One of them asked.  
  
"I think...we're free!" The leader answered. They all cheered. "But how...?"  
  
"Hey!" Davis called up to them. They all looked down at him, then gasped in shock before turning and running away as quickly as possible. "Wait! Come back! We need some...help..." But by this time, they were all long gone...  
  
After de-digivolving, Veemon shouted after them. "You could have at least said THANK YOU!!! Man...what was their problem?"  
  
Davis shrugged. "I don't know...they all just freaked when they saw me..." At this time, the Koromon wiggled out of Davis's hold and jumped to the ground. "Hey wait! Are you okay?" Davis asked it, but froze when it turned towards him. The Koromon was staring at him with what looked like...fear? And hatred?  
  
Without a word, the Koromon bounded off, and was gone before either of the two heros could say anything.  
  
Veemon continued looking at the place where the Koromon ran off. "Well...what was wrong with him? We save his life and he runs off like we're the bad guys..."  
  
Davis thought for a moment. Something was not right here. Digimon don't normally fear humans considering they could just flatten them. So why were they acting like he was a danger to them? Sure he had Veemon to protect him, but it wasn't even Veemon they were looking at! Yes, something was definitely up...  
  
"Lets try to find a town or something. Maybe then we can get some answers as to why everything's so weird..."  
  
The blue dragon nodded. There was no doubt that this was the Digital World, but it just didn't feel the same as he knew it. But the only thing they could do now is try to find out what's going on and where the others are...  
  
That's when they heard something. It sounded like someone was...crying? Despite the results of their previous encounter, the two headed towards the sound to find out what was wrong. You'd think they'd learn when to quit...oh well. They eventually found the source of the crying when they reached a small clearing in the dark forest. In the middle of the clearing, partially trapped under a fallen log, was a baby Popomon! Feeling sorry for the poor thing, Davis and Veemon stepped out into the clearing. When the Popomon saw them, it froze, looking at them in fear.  
  
"Don't worry, we'll get you out of there." Davis told it, taking no notice of how scared it had become after seeing them, him in particular. "Hey pal, lets try to lift it from both ends to let him get out, okay?"  
  
Veemon nodded in agreement. "Sounds like a plan. On three."  
  
"One." Davis.  
  
"Two." Veemon.  
  
"THREE!!!" They both said together, lifting the heavy log high enough to allow the Popomon to move out of the way. After they were sure he was out from beneath the log, they set it down before turning to check on it to see if it was hurt in any way.  
  
"Hey there little guy...are you okay?" Davis asked it. But the Popomon didn't answer, and only looked at the two of them in confusion. Davis reached out to touch it when it flinched, as if expecting him to attack. "Don't worry...you're safe now. No one's gonna hurt you." But it didn't listen to him. Well, the baby wasn't going to respond to either of them, and they couldn't just leave the poor thing there go end up getting squashed, so that only left one thing...  
  
And boy did they end up regretting it...  
  
Davis had to pick up the baby Popomon and take it with them to Primary Village, which he remembered wasn't far, to return it to Electmon so he could take care of it. Unfortunately, once Davis had the little thing in his grasp, it went nuts! The baby kept squirming, trying to get away from him. But worst of all was its crying. Not only were they confused and worried about this, but its cries were high pitch and not at all easy on the ears. Davis was greatly tempted to throw it as far away as he could. However, before he could make up his mind on the matter, they heard shouting.  
  
"It's this way!"  
  
"Come on!"  
  
Veemon smiled at Davis. "Hear that? Someone's coming! We're saved!"  
  
Two Digimon appeared. One was a Gotsumon while the other was a Floramon. When they saw Davis, they gasped, then glared at him angrily. "NOT SO FAST!" The Gotsumon shouted.  
  
"Or...maybe not..." Veemon muttered.  
  
Davis gulped. 'We're nailed...'  
  
********************  
  
Starcatcher: And that's that for this chapter.  
  
EA: But you left it off with ANOTHER cliffhanger!  
  
Starcatcher: (Mock surprise) Oh really? Guess I didn't notice...  
  
EA: (Rolls eyes)  
  
Davis: Review please!  
  
TK: Flame please! 


	4. Chapter 3: Well Toto, I Don't Think We'r...

Starcatcher: FINALLY got the next chapter out...  
  
EA: Good! It's been boring around here. They barely have any good Davis fics on this site!  
  
Davis: Or all the good ones are discontinued...(Sighs)...I really liked the 'Digidestined Saga'...  
  
EA: And 'Golden Angels Tarnished Dragons'...and 'Legend of the Spiridestined'...and those fics by Anime-05...WHY WON'T THEY UPDATE!?! WHYYYYYY!?! (Begins crying)  
  
Starcatcher: The longest one so far has to be 'Digimon Endgame: 02' by Psycho G. It has 80 something chapters already!  
  
Davis: Oh! And lets not forget Ben Myatt and Anthony. So far, those two are the only ones I really know of who finished their fics, and quite nicely too...  
  
Starcatcher: But there are others...have you ever read 'The Switch'?  
  
Davis: (Frowns) I didn't like that one much...KARI DIED!!! AND AFTER I FINALLY TOLD HER MY FEELINGS! WHYYY!?!  
  
Starcatcher: But she came back in the sequel!  
  
Davis: And she DIED again! WHYYY!?!  
  
EA: There, there...(Hugs Davis and smirks as Kari glares)  
  
Kari: And what about YOU Starcatcher?  
  
Starcatcher: (Blink, blink) What about me?  
  
Kari: 'It Was Worth It'? Davis DIED! Aren't you ever going to add more to it?  
  
Starcatcher: (Looks around nervously and mutters something under her breath)  
  
EA: (Freezes and glares at Starcatcher) What was that?  
  
Starcatcher: It was actually only supposed to be a one-shot...  
  
Kari and EA: WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!?! (Grab torches and pitchforks and begin chasing Starcatcher)  
  
Starcatcher: Enjoy this chapter! (Runs)  
  
********************  
  
So many questions were running through Davis's head...  
  
Who were these people?  
  
What was going on?  
  
Where were the others?  
  
When did the control spires and dark rings return?  
  
How did the Digital World get attacked without them knowing it?  
  
"WHY DO YOU PEOPLE KEEP STARING AT US!?!" he shouted, causing the Digimon to jump back in fear. He lowered his head, not wanting to look at them. He didn't mean to sound so rude, but they just kept watching him like he was gonna go nuts and kill them all any second. But why WERE they staring at him that way? He didn't do anything THAT terrible to merit such fear and hatred!  
  
Did he?  
  
A Blossomon was examining Veemon. "Strange...there's no dark ring...why are you with this human if he didn't put a dark ring on you?"  
  
"WHAT!?!" Davis shouted, not able to believe that they would actually accuse him of such a thing. "I would never do that to Veemon! We're partners, but more importantly, we're friends!"  
  
The Gotsumon thwapped Davis and considering he is made of rock, that's gotta hurt. "Quiet you! Don't even try to worm your way out of this!" He hissed.   
  
"What's this about?" Demanded a familiar voice. Davis and Veemon heaved a sigh of relief when they found the voice came from Gatomon. She'll help them out of this. Strange though...she had a scar over her left eye. (Similar to the one that Gohan received in History of Trunks in the fact that the eye itself wasn't damaged) Even stranger was that the scar was somewhat faded, as though she had it for a few years.  
  
"Well who are you?" Gatomon questioned. Great, even Gatomon didn't know them. Something was seriously wrong here...  
  
Davis sighed once again. "Hello? You know us! Davis Motomiya and Veemon!"  
  
"Don't you remember?" Veemon asked her. Gatomon just stared at them with a blank look on her face.  
  
"He's one of the Digidestined." Gotsumon reported to Gatomon. "He had this." Here, he handed the feline Digimon Davis's D-3.  
  
Gatomon examined it for a moment, curious. "It's a digivice, but not like any I've seen."  
  
Davis was getting frustrated...and confused, which only served to frustrate him more. "Is this some sort of joke or has the whole world gone nuts and nobody bothered to tell us?"  
  
The Digimon ignored him. "He could be spying for the Dark Masters."  
  
'Dark Masters? I thought they died when the older kids defeated them?' Davis thought to himself.  
  
"Possibly...we'll see what Leomon thinks." Gatomon.  
  
'Leomon? I thought he died too...at least that's what the others said...AARGH!!! WHAT'S GOING ON HERE!?!' Davis shouted in his mind.  
  
"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE!?!" Came a shout at the same time Davis yelled in his head. It was Leomon, only he had several scars all over his body. Nasty looking ones too...sort of like Vash in Trigun, but not quite as many, and not as bad either.  
  
"Sir, we've captured these spies!" the Floramon stated, stepping aside to reveal Davis and Veemon. Leomon narrowed his eyes at them.  
  
"How did he get a Veemon?"  
  
Gatomon shrugged. "I'm not sure. But he claims to be a Digidestined and that the Veemon is his partner."  
  
"We ARE partners!" Veemon shouted.  
  
Leomon ignored Veemon and glared at Davis. "So you're working with the Dark Masters?"  
  
Davis blinked. "The who?"  
  
"The Dark Masters! The rulers of the Digital World!" Leomon.  
  
"This doesn't make any sense! Everything was just fine yesterday! We already stopped the Digimon Emperor, and defeated MaloMyotismon, and there were no Dark Masters, so what's going on now!?!" Davis.  
  
Gatomon and the other Digimon only looked at him in bewilderment. "Who's the Digimon Emperor?"  
  
"AUGH!!!" In frustration, Davis banged his head against a nearby tree, not only giving himself a bruise, but also pissing off the tree, which was actually a Cherrymon.  
  
"HEY!" It cried.  
  
"Oops! Sorry!" Davis apologized.  
  
"What should we do with him?" Blossomon asked.  
  
"We can't risk allowing them to live. They might be working for the enemy, and therefore..." At this, Leomon aimed his fist right at them. "We have to kill them!"  
  
"SAY WHAT!?!" Davis shouted, shocked.  
  
"But we didn't do anything!" Veemon pleaded.  
  
Leomon ignored them and prepared to unleash his attack when...  
  
"NOOOOOO! STOP! DON'T HURT THEM!!!" Came a high-pitched voice. Everyone turned to see that it came from a Koromon. But not just any Koromon, it was the same one that Davis and Veemon had rescued earlier! "Don't kill them! They're not bad!"  
  
"What do you mean?" Gatomon asked him.  
  
"Those two saved me from some Tyranomon under the control of the dark rings! They destroyed the dark rings and FREED the Tyranomon! If they were with the Dark Masters, they wouldn't have done that!" He explained.  
  
"It could be a trick! They could be trying to gain our trust and when the time's right, they'll turn us in!" Gotsumon.  
  
"And just who would we possibly turn you in to!?!" Davis demanded. "We don't even know what the heck's going on here!"  
  
"QUIET YOU!" Gostumon once again thwapped Davis.  
  
"OW!" Davis glared at the Gotsumon, rubbing his head where he was hit, or at least he would have if he wasn't currently tied up.  
  
Leomon paused to consider it. Could it be that these two weren't with the others? Granted, neither of them have been seen until today, but could it be that they weren't yet involved in this war? He turned to face Floramon. "And what of the Popomon they had with them?"  
  
The Floramon looked to the ground, a bit nervous. "It didn't seem all that injured..."  
  
"That's because we WEREN'T trying to hurt it! The poor thing got caught under a tree log and we helped it get out!" Veemon.  
  
"But why were you headed here then?" The Gotsumon.  
  
Davis rolled his eyes. "Because it was a baby Digimon, duh! We wanted to return it to Primary Village, duh! So it would be safe and taken care of, duh! And Primary Village is somewhere in this area, duh! And we figured we could get some answers as to why the world went nuts, duh! We just want to help, duh! Oh yeah, and did I forget to mention: DUH!?!"  
  
The Gotsumon whacked Davis yet again. "Watch your tongue!"  
  
Davis sent a glare at him. 'Assuming I still have one left...' He winced at the pain from biting it when the Gotsumon hit him.  
  
"We should consider this Leomon. They really seem to be lost. Maybe they truely don't know what's going on?" Gatomon suggested.  
  
Leomon sighed. "Fine. But if either of you try to escape, we will not hesitate to finish you." With that, he put the Gatsumon in charge of guarding them before leaving. Gatomon began to follow before sending a look at Davis.  
  
'Why does he look so familiar?' She shrugged and left after Leomon.  
  
Davis sighed and looked over at Veemon. "I guess we really got ourselves into a big mess this time..."  
  
####################  
  
"Did that really happen?" Tenshi asked, shocked but mainly amused.  
  
Davis frowned. "What were you expecting me to say? That I managed to convince them I'm on their side and automatically became the trusted leader of the group? Please, I'm not that conceited." Tenshi began giggling and Davis sighed. "Yes, that really did happen."  
  
"But then what happened? It's obvious you weren't killed, because you're here talking to me right now."  
  
He grinned sheepishly. "Well, I actually fell asleep after that."  
  
"WHAT!?!"  
  
"Shh! Calm down. Considering everything that had happened, could you blame me?"  
  
"I guess not..."  
  
"But I ended up having the freakiest dream..."  
  
####################  
  
In Davis's dream, he found himself surrounded by a dense fog. "Hello? Anyone there? Veemon? Where are you?" He called out, but no one answered. He continued walking, trying to find his way through the fog. Soon, he heard voices, both of which sounded strangely familiar to him. Headed in the direction, he could just make out two figures. One was quite short, while the other one was much taller. From their voices, he could tell that the short figure was actually just a kid, while the taller one was maybe around his age. He was close enough to hear them speak and apparently, they hadn't noticed him.  
  
"The day will come when you will have to face many trials and no one will be there to help you." The teen stated, his voice echoing throughout the place. "It may seem like you can't win, but don't be afraid. Listen to your instincts and choose the path you feel is best. Even if others believe that you are wrong, always trust your feelings. You'll make the right choice in the end."  
  
"But how can I fight alone? I'm scared...I don't think I can do this by myself...what if I'm not able to?" The kid questioned.  
  
"You can. Believe in yourself and your power. You'll do things that no one else will even think possible. But remember to believe in your friends and loved ones, for everyone has their own power and can accomplish much with the right reason."  
  
"I will."  
  
Davis froze. Those voices were familiar, and the mist had disappated just enough to show him the face of the child. "That's..."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!!!"  
  
Davis woke up to screams. Snapping up in confusion, Davis saw the Gotsumon looking towards the edge of the town, worried. "What's going on?"  
  
The Gotsumon faced him, too troubled by the current situation to remember the possibility that Davis could be a spy. "We're under attack by enemy Digimon under the control of the dark rings!"  
  
Blossomon ran up to them. "We're outnumbered! We need all the help we can get!" The Gotstumon nodded and rushed off to help, leaving Davis and Veemon still tied up, sitting on the ground. In the distance, they could see the battle taking place. Veggiemon and Snimon under the effects of the dark rings were attacking, and the free Digimon didn't look like they would be able to last much longer.  
  
"This is..." Davis watched the carnage, eyes wide in horror. 'This is horrible! All those poor Digimon...sure they're holding us hostage and threatened to kill us repeatedly, but still...they don't deserve this...'  
  
"Davish, what do we do?" Veemon asked.  
  
"I..." Just then, a controlled Snimon reached the two and was about to slice them to bits. "LOOK OUT!!!" But since they were still tied up, neither could move out of the way in time.  
  
"LIGHTNING PAW!!!" With one swipe, Gatomon sent the Snimon flying through a tree, saving Davis and Veemon.  
  
"Gatomon...you...saved us...?" Veemon.  
  
She grunted and looked away. "I couldn't just stand by and let you two get killed...at least not until we know for sure who you are."  
  
Ignoring the last bit, Davis smiled. "Thank you."  
  
Gatomon sighed before turning to face them again. "Can you two fight?"  
  
A bit shocked, Davis nodded. "Yeah, we can fight."  
  
"If I release you, will you help us?"  
  
"Of course we'll help!"  
  
Within seconds, they were free. Standing tall, Davis smirked. "Lets kick some butt. DIGI-ARMOR ENERGIZE!!!"  
  
"VEEMON ARMOR DIGIVOLVE TO...FLAMEDRAMON! THE FIRE OF COURAGE!" With that, the two were off like a shot to fight off the invaders. Gatomon looked after them, smiling.  
  
"Maybe..."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"FIST OF THE BEAST KING!!!"  
  
And another one bites the dust, but they just kept coming! "There's too many of them!" At this time, several Veggiemon attacked Leomon all at once, forcing him to the ground.  
  
"FIST OF THE BEAST KING!!!" He launched another attack, but it was no good, they all jumped him at the same time. 'So...this is how it's going to end then...' He closed his eyes and awaited the inevitable...oh well...maybe death won't be so bad...he can't even feel their attacks anymore...  
  
Wait a minute!  
  
Opening his eyes, he saw something completely unexpected. The human boy had pulled the Veggiemon off of him and was currently giving them the ol one two himself! He looked at Leomon over his shoulder. "You okay Leomon?"  
  
Leomon was shocked to say the least. "Why are you helping us? You're a human!"  
  
Davis punched a Veggimon away, then turned to face Leomon. "I told you before, I want to help. I don't know what's going on or why you distrust humans so much, but I do know that I have to help protect the Digital World and it's clear to me that you want the same thing. So will you at least trust me enough to allow me help you fight them off?"  
  
Leomon just stared, then nodded. Davis nodded as well and smiled before turning to fight off another Veggimon. 'How strange…I haven't seen a human fight so hard for the good of the Digital World since…' He shook his head. 'Maybe…just maybe…' With new determination, Leomon stood, for some reason he felt that he had all his energy back. "FIST OF THE BEAST KING!!!" He fired off another attack at a Snimon, destroying the dark ring. Smirking, he thought to himself, 'we might just win this...'  
  
Davis turned to look over at Flamedramon, who was currently taking on a whole group of Snimon. Two tried to slash him at the same time, but he jumped, causing them to run into each other and knock themselves out. "FIRE ROCKET!!!" Still in mid air, Flamedramon shot his attack, hitting three more Snimon at the same time, and destroying the dark rings seconds after he landed. Unfortunately, one came at him from behind.  
  
"LOOK OUT FLAMEDRAMON!!!" Davis shouted.  
  
Unfortunately, Flamedramon didn't have enough time to move out of the way. When the Snimon was only a yard away from contact, the Koromon from before jumped up and landed on the Snimon's face, covering his eyes so he couldn't see. "Leave my friends alone you big bully!" It shouted. The Snimon growled and knocked Koromon away, right into the path of another Snimon, mouth open and waiting for the oncoming meal. Koromon screamed, unable to stop or slow his velocity enough to avoid being a snack. 'I guess this is it...' He closed his eyes, wondering how much it would hurt.  
  
"GOTCHA!!!" Davis shouted, having jumped and catching Koromon before it could be eaten. Landing at an angle, he rolled across the ground until he was stopped, rather painfully I might add, by a tree. Groaning, Davis looked down at the Koromon in his arms. "You okay little guy?" Koromon nodded, happily.  
  
It didn't take too much longer for the rest of the attacking Digimon to be freed or retreat. Fortunately, besides the Snimon that tried to attack Davis and Veemon earlier, none of them made it past the camp's defenses. Speaking of which, the two were currently inside one of the tents, speaking with several of the leaders of the place.  
  
"Thank you both for your help today." Gatomon smiled, glad that she had made the right choice in letting them go. "If it weren't for you two, we might have suffered more casualties, or even lost completely."  
  
Davis smiled sheepishly. "It was nothing, really..."  
  
"Speak for yourself." Veemon muttered. "But what about your ankle?"  
  
At this, he looked at the bandage on his right leg. Apparently, he had twisted it when he landed wrong after helping the Koromon. "It'll be all right after a while." Looking up, his face became more serious. "But what I want to know is what happened to the Digital World? Why are the dark rings and control spires still around? And who sent those controlled Digimon to attack this place?"  
  
Leomon sighed. "I'm not sure I can even explain all of it. It would probably be best for us to see Gennai. He'll tell you everything you need to know..."  
  
####################  
  
"And that's how Veemon and I gained the trust of at least some of the Digimon there. Considering the battle just fought, we planned to visit Gennai the next day...and boy, were we ever surprised when we found out what the problem in the Digital World this time..." Davis.  
  
Veemon shook his head. "I still have a hard time believing it, and I was there!"  
  
Tenshi looked at the two in confusion. "So what exactly was causing all those problems?"  
  
Davis smiled. "It's not so much of 'what' than 'who'..."  
  
********************  
  
Starcatcher: And that's another chapter down.  
  
EA: I'm surprised you managed to go the whole chapter without blowing who the bad guys were this time.  
  
Kari: I'm surprised you've already written four whole chapters without mentioning the rest of us!  
  
EA: Oh come off it! You were in the first chapter!  
  
Kari: Barely...  
  
Starcatcher: Don't worry. You'll be in here soon.  
  
Kari: (Reading over the script) But according to this, you have me as a--  
  
EA: (Slams some duct tape over Kari's mouth) Now, now...we wouldn't want to give everything away, would we?  
  
Davis: When has that ever stopped you before?  
  
EA: (Glomps Davis) Cuuute...  
  
Davis: And next time, we all go see Gennai and find out just what's threatening the Digital World this time, and boy are we ever surprised. Not only that, but we get a look into the real world to find the others and see just what else has changed, and boy do we get the shock of our lives...  
  
EA: And on that note, we still need to kill Starcatcher!  
  
Starcatcher: Dammit!  
  
Kari and EA as well as many other people: (Grab torches and pitchforks and resume chasing after Starcatcher)  
  
Starcatcher: (Quickly) I will try to get the next chapter out soon assuming that I don't die! Review please! (Runs) 


	5. Chapter 4: As If Things Weren't Bad Enou...

Starcatcher: Hey everyone. Here's the next chapter.  
  
EA: You do realize that they're not gonna be happy about this, right?  
  
Starcatcher: Sadly, yes...but it cannot be helped. I've tried thinking of other people who could be causing the problem, but, to me at least, this is the best I can come up with.  
  
EA: But this isn't just another repeat of the whole "Digimon Emperor Saga"! This is--  
  
Starcatcher: WHY do you keep trying to give everything away?  
  
EA: Cuz it's FUN! *^_^*  
  
Starcatcher: Riiiight...oh well. Wait a minute! Don't you still want to kill me for making "It Was Worth It" a one-shot?  
  
EA: Well...you're writing this, and I happen to like how it's going, so no.  
  
Starcatcher: That's a relief...  
  
EA: So are you gonna start this chapter or not?  
  
Starcatcher: (Sighs) No use delaying the inevitable. The thing is, I've only seen a few fics with this idea, and some were actually pretty good. So I decided to give it a try.  
  
EA: This is gonna be our first-fledge Digimon fic, so if you're gonna flame, then at least give us a good reason to care.  
  
Starcatcher: Now that's harsh.  
  
EA: Eh...  
  
Starcatcher: Disclaimer?  
  
Davis: Starcatcher does not own Digimon. The EA doesn't own Digimon either.  
  
Kari: And despite repeated claims, she does not own Davis! (Glomps Davis)  
  
Davis: Huh?  
  
EA: (Steaming) WHAT!?! GET YOUR HANDS OFF HIM!!!  
  
Kari: Make me!  
  
Starcatcher: Oh boy...lets just get this over with, shall we?  
  
********************  
  
The next day, they had left for Gennai's house. Upon arriving...  
  
"WHAT THE HELL!?! Gennai, is that you? You're...old!" Davis exclaimed. Now please remember that the four newer kids and Digimon met Gennai after he returned to his normal form, so it was only natural for the two to be confused and a bit shocked to find Gennai as an old geezer and couldn't help but gawk at him.  
  
Not really liking the way either of them were staring, Gennai cleared his throat to get their attention. Realizing that they were being rude, the two blushed and apologized. Nodding, the not-so-young Gennai motioned them to enter his underwater home.  
  
"So, my young friends, it appears that you are lost." Gennai stated once everyone was seated. Davis and Veemon both nodded in response, so he continued. "Is it your first time in the Digital World."  
  
At this, the two shook their heads. "No. Veemon and I have been coming here for a while now...but it wasn't like this..."  
  
"How so?" Gennai.  
  
"Well...it was peaceful when we last left it a few days ago. We already helped the former Digimon Emperor to change his ways, and we defeated MaloMyotismon..."  
  
The other three only looked at the two in confusion. "But...the Digital World has been this way for some time now!" Gatomon exclaimed.  
  
"And we have never heard of this...Digimon Emperor...nor MaloMyotismon." Leomon added.  
  
"But...how...?" Davis.  
  
"Young man, would you mind telling me your name?" Gennai.  
  
"It's Davis. Davis Motomiya."  
  
Gennai paused for a moment before looking Davis straight in the eyes. "Who are you?"  
  
Davis looked around, confused, before answering again. "Davis Motomiya."  
  
"Why are you lying to me?"  
  
"I'm NOT lying! My name IS Davis 'Daisuke' Motomiya! Why would you accuse me of lying?" Davis demanded.  
  
"Because Davis Motomiya DIED years ago!"  
  
"WHAT!?! But...HOW!?!" Davis jumped up, shouting.  
  
"Gennai...how could this boy have died years ago if he's standing right here? He must be who he says he is, otherwise he wouldn't have a Veemon for a partner, and be able to use the Digimental of Courage." Leomon wondered.  
  
"Well, there is a way to be sure..." Gennai stated, turning away to get something from off a shelf.  
  
"And what might that be?" Davis asked.  
  
"Young man...would you mind rolling up your sleeve and holding out your arm...?" With his back still to them, he pulled out one HUGE needle, that none of them were able to see due to the fact that they were behind him. Shrugging and not thinking much of it, Davis did as requested and held his arm out, wondering just why Gennai asked him to do so. (Think of the Inuyasha episode after Tetsusaiga breaks and you'll get the idea...)  
  
A few seconds later, outside Gennai's house, let us examine the view of the area...oooooh...pretty...  
  
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!"  
  
Oh boy...back inside Gennai's house, Davis was currently being restrained by Leomon, while a nervous Veemon tried to calm him down and a shocked Gatomon stared. "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING YOU GODDAMN FREAK!?!"  
  
Gennai, however, ignored him and inserted the tube of blood into a computer to get an analysis. After few minutes, Davis finally calmed down enough and after promising not to kill Gennai, was released by Leomon. A minute or so later, the computer made a 'ding' sound, and began printing something that Davis and the others couldn't really tell. Gennai looked over the papers before turning to the others.  
  
"Well?" Gatomon.  
  
"What did it say?" Leomon.  
  
"It says that this boy is, indeed, who he claims to be." Gennai announced.  
  
Davis smiled. "See? Told ya!"  
  
"But that doesn't make any sense, Gennai...how can Davis still be alive even though he died years ago?" Gatomon questioned.  
  
"I think I may have an idea...but tell me something first." Gennai nodded before turning to Davis and Veemon. "When did you two first arrive to find the Digital World had changed?"  
  
"It was just yesterday." Veemon answered. "We were supposed to meet the others to come to the Digital World and have a party to celebrate finishing all the rebuilding from the previous threats!"  
  
"Is that so? Did anything strange happen before you came through?" Gennai.  
  
Veemon shook his head. "Nope...we were late though. Davish forgot to set his alarm clock!"  
  
"HEY! It wasn't my fault! I DID set my alarm, but it must have messed up or something. It went off later than I remember setting it for. Considering we were going to be late, Veemon and I rushed to the school." Davis exclaimed.  
  
"And were nearly hit by a car in the process..." Veemon added his two cents.  
  
"Someone pushed me! Then we made it to the school and I saw the other kids inside through the window, but when we reached the computer lab, they had already left! So we opened the Digi-port to follow them and catch up, only to find the world like this."  
  
Gennai nodded, thinking. "Hmmm...interesting..."  
  
"Well? Do you know what happened?" Davis asked, eagerly.  
  
"I haven't the slightest clue!" Gennai smiled sheepishly as the others face faulted. "I'm not quite certain, but it looks to me like you two came from an alternate reality to ours, which would explain how you're alive even though the Davis of this world is supposed to be dead."  
  
"That would make some sense." Davis agreed.  
  
"I'm not sure just how or why you two have come here here, but this may be the chance that we've been waiting for..." Gatomon stated.  
  
"What do you mean?" Veemon.  
  
"Until we find out exactly what happened to bring you two here, you're stuck. And it just so happens that we may have need of your help to save both worlds from a new threat." Gennai.  
  
"We'll do whatever we can to help you." Davis stated, much to the happiness of the others in the room.  
  
####################  
  
"And that a big mistake..." he muttered.  
  
Tenshi tilted her head to the side a bit, confused. "You mean you didn't want to help them?"  
  
"Oh, don't get me wrong, I was all for helping them. I'm still glad I did. But...it probably would have been a good idea if I had first known exactly WHO it was we were going to try and help them against..."  
  
####################  
  
"WHAT!?! But...why would...how could...I don't believe it..." Davis fell back into his seat at Gennai's table, while Veemon froze, both not able to believe what they had just heard. 'Out of everyone in either of the entire worlds, why oh why did it have to be THEM?'  
  
"Is something wrong?" Gatomon asked, a bit worried about their reaction.  
  
"Our friends...the Digidestined...are the Dark Masters...and taking over the Digital World? But we KNOW them! Why would they do such a thing?" Veemon questioned.  
  
"Remember, this reality is different than your own. Circumstances have changed and they are not the same people you knew." Gennai told them.  
  
Davis thought it over...and strangely enough, it did seem to make sense. At least it would explain the appearance of the dark rings and control spires...as well as why the Digimon reacted to them so strangely. The only humans in the Digital World are trying to take it over...not to mention the fact that Davis looks similar to Tai.  
  
"But even so...I just can't believe that our friends...the first Digidestined...would actually do this! How could they chose to take over the Digital World after all they learned and went through?" Veemon cried.  
  
"We don't know. One day, they just came through the Digi-port and started their takeover. They're just not the same that they used to be. They're stronger...smarter...much more powerful than they used to be...they're no longer the same ones who saved the Digital world..." Gatomon stated, trying to hold back her sorrow.  
  
Davis slammed his hands on the table. "NO! They wouldn't just turn evil like that! I know them, and they would never just join the darkness and try to enslave the Digital World! The circumstances in this universe may be different from ours, but they are still the same people at heart! I KNOW that they wouldn't do this out of their own free will! The Digital World means too much to them...it means too much to all of us! There must be something controlling them! Like with Ken!"  
  
Leomon looked at him quizically. "What do you mean?"  
  
"Well it's like this...it happened a few years after the first kids defeated Apoclomon. One Digidestined, Ken, went bad and became the Digimon Emperor and tried to enslave the Digital World. He set up control spires to expand his control, but they also kept Digimon from being able to digivolve. And they also gave power to the dark rings which were used to control the Digimon."  
  
"Remarkable..." Genai murmered. "That sounds like our situation here..."  
  
"Then us newer kids were brought in to help. We were given the power of the Digimentals to make our Digimon armor-digivolve, since that was the only way of digivolution not affected by the control spires. In the end, we managed to stop the Digimon Emperor after he created one warped Digimon known as Kimeramon, and Veemon here golden armor-digivolved to Magnamon. After the sacrifice of the Emperor's Digimon, Wormmon, Kimeramon was defeated. We convinced Ken that what he was doing was wrong, and he changed his ways and eventually joined our side after Wormmon came back. Later on, we found that it wasn't even really his fault for all the things he did. It turns out that there was this thing called a Dark Spore inside of him. It made him super smart and atheletic, but it also warped his mind, making him evil."  
  
"So...if that's true...then the Digidestined might be under the same control?" Gatomon asked, hopefully. Despite everything, she didn't want to believe that Kari would willingly turn evil.  
  
"That HAS to be it, because if the others in this world were anything like the ones in ours, then they would never turn to the darkness and try to hurt anyone." Davis stated, believing fully that his friends could be saved.  
  
"Maybe so...but it might help us if we knew exactly how things were in your world..."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Gatomon! Hey Gatomon!"  
  
The feline Digimon turned to see Veemon running after her. Davis was still with Gennai and Leomon, discussing the events in each of the realities. Gatomon, not wanting to stay any longer once they had started up the topic of the new Dark Masters, had left, and Veemon, being worried, had followed her. "What is it Veemon?" She asked him.  
  
Out of breath when he finally caught up to her, Veemon took a few seconds before asking her the question that was bugging him. "Hey Gatomon, would you mind telling me something?"  
  
"Uh...sure, if I can."  
  
"Well...Gennai said that the other Digimon went along with their human partners in their takeover, but you didn't. Why?"  
  
Gatomon frowned. "I know that Kari's my partner, and I hated leaving her like I did...but I just couldn't allow myself to work for the side of evil again."  
  
"Huh?" Veemon looked at her, confused. The Gatomon of his world never told him or any of the others about her past working for Myotismon. The older Digimon didn't really mention it either.  
  
She looked away, sadly. "I don't want to talk about it." She turned to leave, but stopped when Veemon grabbed her hand.  
  
"Gatomon, I know that this is probably hard for you, but something I've learned is that it always helps to talk about it."  
  
Annoyed, she glared at him. "And why would you care?"  
  
"Because we're friends!"  
  
"What makes you think that we could ever be friends?" She hissed out.  
  
He backed up a bit. "Well...we helped each other before...doesn't that make us friends?"  
  
"No. That was just to help in the battle. That doesn't mean we're friends."  
  
"Well we could be...I mean...I wanna be your friend..." He pouted.  
  
She paused before turning to face him. "You want...to be my friend?"  
  
He nodded. "Yeah! Why wouldn't I?"  
  
After staring at him for a moment, she began to laugh. "Veemon...I don't think I've ever met anyone like you..."  
  
Veemon laughed as well, but stopped suddenly, wincing in pain. Realizing something was wrong, Gatomon rushed to his side. "Veemon! Veemon, are you all right?"  
  
"I...don't know...it feels like...I'm being split in two..." He managed to choke out before falling. Fortunately, Gatomon caught him.  
  
"HELP! GUYS! HELP!" She shouted, half dragging, half carrying him back towards Gennai's house.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
'Okay, this sucks...this really, REALLY sucks...here I am, all alone, in the real world that is no longer the same I remember it. My partner's back at the Digital World suffering from who knows what...all the first kids and their Digimon are evil, except Gatomon, who can't fight at her best without Kari...Ken, Yolie, and Cody could help, assuming I can get them to believe me...and I'm supposed to be dead. If this isn't low, I don't know what is.'  
  
After hearing about the newer Digidestined, Gennai had sent Davis off to the real world, along with a backpack full of money and supplies, to locate them while he tried to find out what was wrong with Veemon. Fortunately, the Digi-ports between the two worlds still existed, so it was no trouble for him to get to the real world, though he did freak out a few kids when he came out of a computer at the school.  
  
"Lets see now...where to find the others...I guess I should start with Yolie. It's the weekend, so she must be working." With that, he set off for her family's store.  
  
After several minutes in which he tried to go unnoticed by anyone in case they recognized him, Davis finally reached the place. Upon entering, he found that apparently, the Digital World wasn't the only place that changed.  
  
********************  
  
EA: Oh yes...this is gonna be EVIL!  
  
Starcatcher: What can I say? Humor happens to be my specialty.  
  
Davis: (Pouts) You're not gonna make this easy for me, are you?  
  
Starcatcher: Well...I could, but where would be the fun in that? Besides, I have to have it be at least somewhat reasonable...  
  
Davis: (Sighs) I'm dead.  
  
********************  
  
'A book store?' Davis looked around, confused. Originally, this place had been a convinience store, but now it was full of books. 'Weird...but then again, it could be worse...now I wonder if Yolie's family still owns this place...' Fortunately, he found his answer quite quickly when he saw Yolie at the cash register, selling a book to a teen who looked familiar somehow.  
  
"Have a nice day, sir." She said, though she sounded more like she was whispering. When the boy smiled at her and thanked her, she appeared to get more nervous and seemed to find a spot on the floor quite interesting. After the boy left the store, she looked up and her eyes fell on Davis. "C-can I help you?" She asked him, quite nervous.  
  
Davis could only stare at her. 'Yolie...she seems...sorta scared and less confident than she was in the other reality. Now this is something I thought I'd never see...' She still wore her glasses, but her hair was now in a braid. (Think Duo Maxwell) She wore a light pink dress similar to Aerith's from FF7, and just didn't look as strong willed or confident as her alternate self.  
  
Unfortunately, his staring only served to scare Yolie. "W-what do you want?"  
  
'Okay...Yolie's just a bit different. I'm sure she'll take it well.' He sighed. "Yolie...I know this is gonna sound strange, but..."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
'Okay, so she DIDN'T take it as well as I hoped.' Davis ran as fast as he could as the echos from Yolie's screaming followed him. 'Great. This is just fuckin great! She thinks I'm some sort of ghostly stalker now! How was I supposed to know she'd freak out when I told her who I was.'  
  
Apparently, Davis had forgotten that Yolie knew him before the whole Myotismon incident, and therefore, would freak out once she realized who he was. It really didn't help the matter when he mentioned that little incident where she first learned about Digimon. Now she thought he was some sort of stalker...or a ghost...or both.  
  
He sighed. 'Maybe I should try Ken next?'  
  
And so, after paying the fare and riding the subway, Davis reached Tamachi. He was headed for Ken's place when he heard something not too far away. It sounded like...shouting! Rushing to the scene, he found a group of teens ouside of the school, surrounding something and either cheering, jeering, shouting, or just staying quiet. After finally finding the reason, he couldn't help but stare. "I...don't...believe this..."  
  
In the center of attention, the one who everyone was cheering for...was KEN! And he didn't look like the kind, reformed teen that Davis remembered him. He was wearing a brown leather jacket, a cross necklace, torn jeans, and black boots that looked like they would really hurt if you were kicked by them. To finish his 'punk' look, his hair, which was an inch or two longer than the Ken's Davis knew, was pulled back into a painful looking pony-tail, sort of similar to Wufei from Gundam Wing.  
  
After getting over the shock of seeing Ken this way, Davis realized just what everyone was jeering about. Ken, along with two other rather big and stupid looking guys, were beating up on a rather pale and scrawny looking kid, who was on the ground, trying to cover his face as they kicked him. The people in the crowd did nothing to stop the boys or help the kid. They were either cheering for the bullies, jeering at the kid, shouting at them all to stop, or...worst of all...doing nothing. But none of them stepped forward to try and do anything against either parties involved.  
  
Well...one did.  
  
"HEY! LEAVE HIM ALONE!!!" Came a shout.  
  
Now in times like this, it would probably be the smart thing to just keep one's mouth shut to avoid problems in the future. However, Davis has never really cared about what's smart in a situation when it conflicts with what's right, and therefore, he was at the downed kid's side within seconds.  
  
Ken glared at this newcomer. He didn't recognize him, and this guy has got to be new or just plain stupid to challenge HIS authority. "What?" Everyone fell silent, watching the new scene take place.  
  
Davis looked up at Ken and the others. "Leave the guy alone!"  
  
"And why should we?" Ken demanded.  
  
"Because it's WRONG! You were going at him three against one, and he couldn't even defend himself! You can't just go picking on people because they're smaller and weaker than you! If you wanna fight, then try picking on someone who can stand up for himself!" Davis stood, glaring at Ken.  
  
Shocked and angry, Ken pulled his fist back and threw a punch at Davis, who dodged to the side. Ken was about to throw another punch when an authoritive voice yelled out. "WHAT'S GOING ON HERE!?!" It was a teacher. The crowd immediately dispersed, leaving the teacher, the kid, Ken, his two cronies, and Davis.  
  
"Ichijouji! What's going on?" The teacher demanded, helping the kid that they were beating up on earlier to his feet.  
  
"If I ever see you around here again, you'll be sorry." Ken said, ignoring the teacher as he sent a glare at Davis.   
  
Davis just looked at him, sadly. "Man...where'd your kindness go, Ken?" With that, he turned and walked away.  
  
Ken stared after him for a moment, shocked and just a little confused at what he said. After a few seconds, he grunted and headed off. The two grunts ran off as well to wherever it is they live, leaving the fuming teacher to tend to the kid.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
By now, it was evening, and the sun was beginning to set. Davis had been searching the real world for his friends since that morning. Considering he had been wandering around for a while, and hadn't eaten anything since he left Gennai's house, he was getting really hungry now. Fortunately, he was near the park, where a festival of some sort was taking place. They had all sorts of games, booths, and food stands in the area, so he figured he could get something from there. After buying a turky leg and some ramen, he settled down under a tree and admired the view while thinking about his current situation and of course, eating.  
  
'Lesse...Yolie's timid and easily frightened...and Ken's a punk rebel who also happens to be a major jerk...I wonder if everyone I know is different...' Davis thought to himself as he wondered the streets a bit. He was back in Obadia, looking for Cody and hoping that maybe, just maybe, Cody will be the same smart, reliable, serious kid he was before.  
  
...Keep dreaming Davis.  
  
That's when he saw him...it was Cody! His hair was a bit longer and spikier, and he was wearing a yellow T-shirt, a black vest, jeans, and sneakers, but it was Cody, all right! Quickly packing up his food into his backpack, he rushed off, following Cody and looking for a chance to talk to him. It appeared that he was just wondering around, enjoying the fair, but Davis noticed that the he seemed to be looking for something.  
  
"Grandpa! Grandpa! Look at this!" A young kid squealed.  
  
"Oh my, yes...that is quite lovely..." The Grandfather agreed. At this time, Cody passed the two, and, without being noticed, reached into the old man's pocket and stole his wallet!  
  
'WHAT!?! NO WAY! CODY JUST STOLE FROM THAT GUY!' Davis shouted in his mind. 'Wait a minute...I know Cody! He couldn't just steal from someone!' He began to argue with himself, but decided to stay put just a bit longer.  
  
Cody continued walking away, but slowed down as the child began speaking again. "Do you think we can get it Grandpa?" The kid smiled up at the older man, eyes begging.  
  
"Well I don't see why not. Now where is my wallet?" He began checking his pockets, becoming a bit confused when he couldn't find his wallet in any of them. Cody stopped, head lowered in disgust with himself, before turning back and dropping the wallet on the ground next to the old man's feet as he passed.  
  
Hearing something, the kid looked down and picked up the wallet, smiling. "Here it is Grandpa!"  
  
The Grandfather smiled, though still a bit confused. "Huh...now how did that get there?" And so, the Grandfather bought the child the prize before they both walked off, happily.  
  
Davis smiled after them. 'I knew he wouldn't do it.'  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
A bit later, the sun had just finished sinking below the horizon. Cody stood looking over the bridge at the edge of the park that was built over a stream, thinking. "That was a nice thing you did there." Came an unfamiliar voice. Cody spun around to face a strange teen wearing goggles of all things!  
  
"What? What are you talking about?" He began to get nervous. What if this guy had seen him? What if he turns him in?  
  
"I'm talking about what you did for that kid and his grandfather. Though you shouldn't have taken the wallet in the first place." Davis stated, for yes, it was Davis.  
  
"Shut up! I don't need you telling me what to do!" Cody shouted.  
  
"Of course you don't. You're old enough now to make your own decisions about what's right and wrong."  
  
Cody blinked, a bit confused by his response. "Huh?"  
  
"Look, Cody, just don't do anything that you're gonna regret."  
  
"Who are you? How do you know my name?"  
  
"Well...it's like this..."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"HAH! You actually expect me to believe all that ya weirdo? Other worlds, other realities? Puh-lease! I think you need to be commited!" Cody jeered.  
  
Davis fumed. "Hey! It's true!"  
  
"Prove it!"  
  
Sighing, Davis began to think. What all did he know about Cody that remained the same in this world...? Oh yeah! He snapped his fingers. "Your father!"  
  
Cody froze. "Huh?"  
  
"Your father died in the line of duty, leaving you with your mother." Davis inwardly smirked.  
  
A few moments passed before Cody snapped out of his shock and glared at Davis. "YOU MUTHERFUCKIN CREEP! WHAT DO YOU KNOW!?!" With that, he kicked Davis in the leg before running off.  
  
"Ow! HEY!" Davis watched Cody run off. Figuring there was no point in going after him, he turned and headed the other way, arms crossed, thinking aloud to himself as he reached a busy intersection. "Okay...so far, I've scared Yolie, annoyed Cody, and completely pissed off Ken...I think that's enough damage for one day." Davis muttered as he headed back for the school. He didn't notice the young woman standing on the other side of the street, who was gaping at him as he walked by. By now, it was late and the school was pretty much deserted except for perhaps the Janitors or the kids who had group work to do. Fortunately, the computer lab was empty, so he wouldn't have to worry about freaking out anyone else. At this moment, he heard what sounded like someone running down the hall towards the lab. "Uh oh. Better get outta here! Digi-port OPEN!" And with a bright flash of light...he was gone.  
  
Only a second after he disappeared, the door slammed open. Standing in the archway was the young woman from before. Looking around anxiously, she found the computer lab empty. As if hoping for something, she stayed just a bit longer before turning away, sadly. Closing the door behind her, she never noticed that one of the computer monitors was still on...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"So, did it go okay?" Gatomon asked Davis once he had returned to Gennai's house.  
  
He gave her a 'look'. "Yolie's scared of me, Cody thinks I'm nuts, and Ken wants to kill me. I wouldn't exactly call that okay!"  
  
"Geez! No need to be rude! I was just wondering!" She retorted.  
  
Davis sighed. "Sorry Gatomon. This is just all so hard to take in."  
  
She patted him on the back. "Don't worry. I'm sure Gennai will find out what's wrong with Veemon. And he'll find a cure for whatever it is."  
  
Just then, Gennai entered, and took his seat at the table. Davis immediately bombarded him with questions. "Gennai? How's Veemon? What's wrong with him? Is he gonna be okay? Can you cure him?"  
  
"Whoa! Whoa! Calm down, Davis. I've found out what the problem is..." Gennai stated.  
  
"Well? What is it?" The goggled boy questioned.  
  
Gennai sighed. "Davis...Veemon's dieing."  
  
********************  
  
Starcatcher: How's that for a cliff-hanger?  
  
EA: You...are...EVIL! I thought I was evil, but man...  
  
Starcatcher: Hey, I gave them comedy. I just figured I should add a bit of drama as well.  
  
Kari: (Glaring at Starcatcher) Why did you have to make me evil?  
  
Starcatcher: Look, I tried other ideas, really I did! I even thought of having it be the old Dark Masters back from the dead, Ken, Jun, or Davis's alternate self. None of them worked out as well as having you and the others do it.  
  
EA: (Smirking at Kari) And you fit the part so well!  
  
(Kari lunges at EA and a fight begins.)  
  
Veemon: As thankful as I am for it, why did you have Gatomon be a good guy if Kari's evil?  
  
Starcatcher: Because, I needed a familiar Digimon to be on the good side to help you guys out. Plus, it just fit her character.  
  
Veemon: (Confused look) Huh?  
  
Starcatcher: (Sighs) You'll find out later.  
  
Davis: You're not going to kill off Veemon, are you? He's my best friend! I can't fight without him!  
  
Starcatcher: (Glances around nervously) Uh...about that...  
  
Gatomon: (Glares at Starcatcher) What?  
  
Starcatcher: Uh...I'll get busy with that next chapter! (Sighs) Man...this was a pretty long one...  
  
Veemon: It was only 14 pages!  
  
Starcatcher: But it's longer than the other chapters so far!  
  
Veemon: True...  
  
EA: Review please!  
  
Kari: Flame please! 


	6. Chapter 5: No Rest For The Weary

Starcatcher: Hey everyone, here's the next chapter.  
  
EA: And here's a personal note. There are these things. They're called "reviews". Authors like to see them. They make the authors happy. A happy author gets chapters out faster. An unhappy author loses motivation and discontinues stories. The moral of this lesson: SEND MORE REVIEWS!!!  
  
Starcatcher: The lack of reviews is saddening...  
  
EA: THREE! ONLY THREE REVIEWS! NOT EVEN A DECENT FLAME! AND AFTER WE WORKED OUR BUTTS OFF TO MAKE THE LAST CHAPTER LONGER AND GO AHEAD AND PUT THE OTHERS IN!!!  
  
Starcatcher: I would like to thank Anthony1, Lavos the Time Apocalypse, and Tamer of Light, the only three who sent reviews for the last chapter.  
  
EA: The rest of you get squat...well, actually, you get to read this chapter so don't complain!  
  
Kari: Starcatcher and EA own nothing except this plot, Tenshi, and Lunamon, which really doesn't matter considering neither of them really play much of a role in this fic. (Smirking) Which means Tenshi isn't going to get Davis!  
  
Starcatcher: Who ever said that?  
  
Kari & EA: WHAT!?! (Glare over at Tenshi, who's talking with Davis)  
  
Tenshi: ...And so, Raditz asks Piccolo if he's seen Kakarot. Piccolo asks if he means Son Goku, and Raditz says that's the one. Then Piccolo says "Over that way. He's on an island with some friends. You just fly for a few miles straight, can't miss it." And Raditz says "Thanks" before flying off. And Piccolo says "He seemed nice."  
  
Davis: (Laughs) Man, I'm really gonna have to read that DBZ: Director's Cut!  
  
Kari & EA: (ANGRY) Grrr...  
  
Starcatcher: Oh boy...how about we just start the chapter already, okay? And just so you all know, all the chapters so far have focused on Davis and Veemon, but this won't always be the case. I'm going to develop all the characters, not just those two.  
  
********************  
  
"Remember earlier when I thought that things were at their worst? I was wrong." Davis sighed.  
  
"What do you mean?" Lunamon looked up at him, talking for the first time.  
  
"Let's recap, shall we? 1. Veemon and I somehow ended up in an alternate reality where there was a new evil threatening the Digital World. 2. This new evil turned out to be the very ones who protected it before. Our friends, the first eight Digidested, were taking over the Digital World and as it stood, I was the only Digidestined who could stop them...reason being that I was the only Digidestined at the time. 3. Ken, Yolie, and Cody all thought I was nuts when I tried to explain the situation to them, so they weren't going to be any help. 4. Veemon was gonna die! He's my best friend, not to mention that I wouldn't even be able to stand a chance against the new Dark Masters or their Digimon without him! And last, but not least, 5. I was stuck in a cave, alone, with pretty much no way out."  
  
"Whoa! Whoa! A cave? When did that happen?" Tenshi demanded.  
  
Davis laughed a little. "Well...it's like this..."  
  
####################  
  
Davis took a step back, not able to believe what he had just heard. "W...what?"  
  
"Veemon is going to die." Gennai repeated.  
  
"But how? WHY!?!"  
  
Gennai sighed. "I've looked through every bit of data I could find that had anything to do with this sort of phenomenon. The information I found wasn't good. It is impossible for a person to exist in two places at once. With two versions of the same person alive in the same time and place, they will start to experience distortions."  
  
Davis frowned. "Okay, but what does that have to do with Veemon?"  
  
"This won't have any effect on you because your alternate self died years ago. But it seems that the alternate version of Veemon is still alive."  
  
"SAY WHAT!?!"  
  
"The Davis of this reality died years ago, before he was able to become a Digidestined and free Veemon..."  
  
The goggled boy nodded, understanding. "I get it...so that Veemon is still sealed under the Digimental of Courage in this reality! But why didn't he pass on when my alternate self did?"  
  
"Because he was still sealed, and therefore, could not be free until the one meant to be his partner comes along and lifts the Digimental of Courage." Gennai explained. "To save Veemon, you'll have to find this world's Digimental of Courage and release this reality's Veemon, then get him to move on to be reconfigured..."  
  
####################  
  
"Man, talk about a predicament. In order to save Veemon...I would have to end the life of the other Veemon."  
  
Tenshi whistled. "Man...to have to kill your own partner...granted, it's the alternate version of him, but still..."  
  
Davis sighed. "Tell me about it. And the worst part was I had to go through to get to him."  
  
"What do you mean? Wasn't the Veemon of that reality still trapped under the Digimental of Courage?"  
  
"Yeah, he was, but the problem was GETTING to the darn thing. Apparently, the layout of that area changed as well. It was underground, and there was one hell of a path I had to travel down in order to reach him. Not to mention..."  
  
"What? Did something else happen?"  
  
Davis frowned and looked away, the scene that occured in the tunnels replaying in his mind.  
  
####################  
  
It felt like he had been walking for hours...oh wait! He HAD been walking for hours, and yet it still seemed as though he had gone completely NOWHERE! 'Man, how long is this thing?' Davis wondered.  
  
Gennai's words echoed through Davis's mind. 'Remember...the path is long and treacherous. You have to keep going to reach the Digimental of Courage where Veemon is still trapped. Then you'll have to explain the situation to him and get him to move on.'  
  
Davis rolled his eyes. 'Sure...that'll be easy...' Note the sarcasm. This was going to be anything BUT easy. It was completely dark, with barely enough light to let him see an inch ahead! It was especially irksome when the passageway turned one way or the other and he ended up walking straight into a wall. And if things weren't even bad enough, he was sent here right after returning from the real world, so it was really late and he nearly fell asleep several times! He pinched his arm once again to keep himself awake, and could tell there would be a bruise there in the morning.  
  
As he continued walking, he thought he heard something coming towards him. He stopped, listening as the echos of his own footsteps faded. Nothing else could be heard. Shrugging, he continued walking until he heard it again. He stopped, but this time, it kept coming. It sounded like a loud rumble headed towards him...much like...  
  
"AN EARTHQUAKE!!!" He shouted, just as the ground began to shake. It seemed like the ceiling was going to crash down on him. In fact...it did. Several pieces of the rock fell, nearly crushing him, but Davis managed to dodge as he tried to continue on, remembering that Veemon would die if he took too long. Unfortunately, just when the quake was coming to an end and he thought he was safe, a portion of the roof fell, knocking him out and burying him under dirt and rocks.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Darkness...  
  
No...  
  
It was a void...  
  
Nothing seemed to exist...he wasn't even sure if he existed either...  
  
"Man...what is this place?" Davis wondered.  
  
There was a bright flash that forced him to cover his eyes. When the flash died down, he looked around to find himself right outside his school back in the real world that he left behind! "What the...? I'm back in the real world! But what about Veemon and the others?" At that thought, he instantly ran into the school and to the computer lab where to his relief, the others were waiting.  
  
"Davis, what took you so long?" Yolie demanded.  
  
"Sorry, I just had some stuff to take care of." He answered back.  
  
"It's okay. TK and Kari haven't arrived yet either." Cody informed them.  
  
That's when he heard giggling coming from behind him. Turning to face the door he had just entered from, he found, to his shock, Kari and TK, arms wrapped around each other. Kari seemed to be glowing, as though she was the happiest girl in the world. "Guys! We have an announcement! TK and I are going out now!" Kari exclaimed. TK grinned and nodded to confirm what she just said.  
  
The others broke out into cheers and began congradulating them on finally getting together, while sending these disapproving looks at Davis as he stood there and did nothing. He didn't notice however, as he was too absorbed in his own thoughts. 'She chose TK...everyone always did say they were perfect for each other...but still...I thought that...maybe...she would give me a chance...didn't I prove how much I love her? Didn't she notice? Didn't she even care?'  
  
Laughter broke him out of his thoughts. That's when he noticed that the entire scene had disappeared and he was once again in the seemingly endless void. "What the...?" Yet there was someone else there...the source of the laughter. Spinning around, Davis came face to face with the one and only child of hope.  
  
"TK..." Davis narrowed his eyes, still disturbed by the scene he had just witnessed.  
  
"Aww...is wittle Davis sad?" TK smirked. "Come on, did you really think you actually stood a chance against me when it came to winning Kari's heart?"  
  
He shook his head, realizing that what he just saw wasn't real. It was just some illusion, but why he saw it...he wasn't quite sure. "You haven't won her heart."  
  
"Well, not yet. But she's as good as mine!"  
  
Davis glared. "What makes you think she'll automatically chose you?"  
  
TK's smirk grew. "Isn't it obvious? We were both part of the first group. We both have angel Digimon. They even share an attack when they armor-digivolve! And besides, I have the crest of Hope. Kari has the crest of Light. Hope and Light go perfectly together. And what do you have? Nothing. You just use the borrowed powers of other Digidestined in the form of the Digimentals of Courage and Friendship. You have no crest. You're a complete loser. Anything you've done, I've done first. And I've done a faster and better job than you as well."  
  
"Hey! I may not have been in every single battle that you and the others fought in, but I've done my best in what battles I did fight."  
  
"And you made a mess of them all too."  
  
"Yes, I made a few mistakes...okay, a lot of mistakes, but I LEARNED from them and worked hard to keep from making those same mistakes again. That's a quality of a good leader."  
  
"I would have made a better leader than you. At least I would have been smart enough NOT to make those mistakes."  
  
"Yeah, but you also fought before, and I'll bet that you made even more mistakes than me during that time, right?" At this, Davis was smirking as he saw TK glare at him.  
  
"Even so, Kari and I are meant for each other. Hope and Light. Everybody says so. It's destiny."  
  
Davis rolled his eyes. Man, he was getting so sick and tired of hearing that same line over and over again. "Oh blah, blah, blah. Don't give me that 'destiny' crap! Destiny is just an excuse to stop living and fate is a scapegoat for when things go wrong. WE decide how our lives will turn out. Otherwise, there isn't really any reason for us even being here. What's the point of having free will if you can't use it? Whether either of us is with Kari in the end will ultimately be up to her. If she chooses me, great! If she doesn't, then I won't keep pushing her. Kari will be the one to decide who she feels she'll be the most happy with, and I for one promise, if I ever make it back, that I will stop showing off and making a fool out of myself trying to get her with me."  
  
TK sneered as he faded. Yet nothing else happened and Davis was still stuck in the void. 'Man, what else?'  
  
That's when he noticed a bright light that seemed to be coming from behind him. He turned and saw something in the distance. With nothing else he could do, he headed towards it. As he got closer, he realized that the object in the distance was a door, and a rather strange looking one at that. Part of him wanted to open it and go through, but he felt something strange about the door. It radiated a sense of loss...and lonliness...and another part of him wanted to get as far away from that door as possible.  
  
What will you do?  
  
Will you take the chance and open the door?  
  
Or will you remain where you are?  
  
The choice is yours...  
  
You can lose everything...  
  
Or gain everything...  
  
But when the time comes...  
  
Which shall you choose?  
  
The light the door emitted grew in intensity, forcing Davis to close his eyes as the words continued to echo in his mind. He felt a weight pressing down on him and began to struggle to rise...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Davis opened his eyes to find himself standing on his own two feet back in the cave. 'What the...? What was that all about?' Looking around, he noticed that the area seemed a bit lighter than it was before. Looking up, he found the answer. Part of the roof was missing, which probably happened when the cave had collapsed on top of him, knocking him out for a while. Making his way through the rock and dirt that came up to his knees, he finally made it to the other side, and continued down the path, thinking about the strange dream he just had. 'Did it mean anything...?' He wondered, before nodding. 'Yeah, it showed me that I have been pushing myself on Kari. When I find a way home, I'll back off and try to be less of a jerk...' He scowled. 'Doesn't mean I'm gonna let TK get her though!'  
  
********************  
  
Starcatcher: Oh come on, people! You didn't honestly think I was gonna automatically make him be mature and all powerful so soon, did you?  
  
EA: Uh-huh.  
  
Gatomon: Yeah.  
  
Kari: Pretty much.  
  
Veemon: Yup.  
  
Davis: Ditto.  
  
Starcatcher: Hey!  
  
Kari: Well, lets think about it...you have me, TK, and all the older kids evil, Yolie's wimpy, Ken's a jerk, and Cody's a snot-nosed punk.  
  
Starcatcher: This is an alternate dimension, so I can get away with that. Davis, however, is the same from the show, so I need to keep him at least somewhat goofy and naive then allow him to mature some as the story progresses. Trust me, he won't be the only one who changes over time.  
  
Veemon: Can we get back to the fic and finally find out if I'm gonna live or not?  
  
EA: (Rolls eyes) Oh come on! Any idiot could tell you the answer to that!  
  
********************  
  
He continued trying to make his way through the cave for several more hours, falling or running into a wall a few more times. Cursing, he began to wonder just how long he had been walking when he finally saw a light ahead. 'Is that it?' He ran towards the light as quickly as he could despite his minor injuries. Finally he made it to the source of the light...and found himself in the chamber that held the Digimental of Courage. 'FINALLY!' So overjoyed that he reached his destination, he pumped his fist into the air. "YES!"  
  
Then realizing that Veemon was still in trouble, he calmed down and carefully made his way up to the pedestal that held the object of his search. He could just reach out and touch it now...but he couldn't help wondering...what would happen when he did?  
  
Shaking his head, he narrowed his eyes at the now slightly glowing digimental. 'I have to do this...' He took hold of it, and caused the glowing to intensify...which wasn't the only reaction. Once he touched it, he nearly cried out in shock. It was as if the thing actually was on fire! At least he was wearing his gloves...though that only seemed to make it worse once the egg burned through his gloves and began scorching his skin. Quickly, he tried to pull the digimental away, but the heat only increased the harder he pulled at it!  
  
'The stupid thing's gonna burn my hands off unless I let go! But I have to save Veemon! Come on Davis! You're the only one who can lift it! Put all of your strength into it and PULL IT OUT!'  
  
"DAMMIT!!!" He shouted as the burning intensified even more, searing his flesh and causing him to lose all feeling in his hands. "JUST...COME...OUT...YOU...STUPID...PIECE...OF...CRAP!!!" He felt something give, and with a small 'pop', the digimental came lose. However, he had been pulling so hard that he lost his balance and tumbled backward.  
  
The same scene that occured when he first freed Veemon back in his world played before him. A light burst from the pedestal, and something began to form within it. The light died down, and standing before him was...a Veemon...only different. His skin was a dark blue but seemed to have a tint of gray, his eyes were a pale orange-red, and the markings were more of a copper color.  
  
'Veemon' looked around in confusion. "I don't understand...how can I be here?" His gaze fell on Davis. "Did...you release me?"  
  
Davis nodded. "Y...yeah, I did."  
  
Looking him over carefully, 'Veemon' frowned. "You have the same aura...but you're not the one who's supposed to be my partner. He died years ago."  
  
"Wait a minute...you mean you knew that the Davis here died?" Davis questioned.  
  
'Veemon' nodded. "Of course. He's my Digidestined partner. We're connected, so I can usually tell how he feels or if he's okay." He hung his head, sadly. "I felt him disappear some time ago. I never even got the chance to meet him."  
  
"...I'm sorry..."  
  
Looking up, 'Veemon' faced Davis. Not sure how, he got the feeling that the Digimon knew who he really was and why he was there. "I just want to be with my partner. There's no reason for me to stay here...and your Veemon and I can't exist at the same time. So I'm going to move on."  
  
Davis smiled and gave him a thumbs up. "I know you'll be able to meet up with him the next time around."  
  
"I want to help you both return peace the Digiworld...though I can't do anything myself, I'll give my power to Veemon, and I'll entrust my partner's power to you. I think he would have wanted it that way." 'Veemon' nodded.  
  
"Whoa...thanks..."  
  
"No...I should be the one to thank you." Smiling, 'Veemon' began to revert into data and drift away. "I'm sure...that if he had survived...he would have been just like you." And with that...he was gone.  
  
Davis sighed and turned away, ready to start his journey back through the passage to the outside when he noticed several colored lights shining on the walls as a strange hum could be heard. Realizing it was originating from where the pedestal was, he turned back to be greeted with five glowing lights. "What the...?" The five lights were, from left to right, red, yellow, blue, lavender, and strangely enough...black. He snapped his fingers when he realized what they were. "The digivices!"  
  
At that, four of the lights shot off through the ceiling and into the sky, where he was sure they were headed for their owners in the real world. The last light, the blue one, remained and floated towards Davis. Hearing a screeching sound, he looked to his side where his D-3 was, but it began to hover in front of him as well. The light surrounded his D-3, causing it to glow for a moment before it returned to normal and dropped into his outstretched hands. He winced slightly when it did, due to the burns on his hands from when he tried to pull out the Digimental.  
  
He grinned. "Cool...mission accomplished." Turning away to head back through the cave, he paused for a moment, his gaze following the path that the four lights had taken. "Red...yellow...black...I know those belong to Yolie, Cody, and Ken...but what was with that other one?" Shrugging, he headed back into the darkness of the passageway. "Oh well...I guess I'll find out sooner or later..."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Finally, after several hours, he reached the outside. Taking a deep breath, he smiled. "Man...it's nice to see sunlight again...wait a minute! SUNLIGHT!?! Oh no! It's MORNING already!?! I've been in there all night!" He cried out and fell to his knees, exhausted. He didn't stay there long though, knowing that he needed to go back and make sure Veemon was okay. Finally, after another hour of walking and pinching, he reached Gennai's house where Gatomon was waiting for him.  
  
"Hey Davis, what's with the getup?" Gatomon asked.  
  
"Huh?" He looked down at himself and gasped. He hadn't realized it before due to the lack of light in the cave and the rush to return and discover if Veemon was all right, but his Digiworld outfit was different! He had lost the fur collar on the leather jacket, which now reached past his knees and the sleeves ended a bit past his elbow, though it still had the red flames and blue background. Instead of shorts, he was now wearing pants. His goggles were still there, unchanged. He was now wearing fingerless gloves with the same flame design as his jacket. Considering he wasn't wearing those gloves when the D-3 fell into his hands, he realized that the changes must have taken place when he was rushing through the cave, only he had been so concerned with getting back that he didn't notice. "Whoa...this is new..."  
  
Gatomon smiled. "We're just glad you made it back."  
  
That snapped Davis out of his thoughts, remembering that Veemon had been close to death. "Veemon! Is he okay?"  
  
Her smile faded, and she looked away, sadly. At this time, Gennai emerged from his home to see the two. Davis, beginning to panic, rushed over to him. "Gennai! Is Veemon okay? Did I make it in time?"  
  
Gennai sighed and hung his head, not looking at the goggled boy. 'No...it can't be!' He pushed past Gennai and ran through the house and into the room where Veemon had been placed to monitor his condition. When he reached his destination, he gasped, not believing the scene before him.  
  
********************  
  
Starcatcher: Well, that's it. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter!  
  
EA: WHAT!?! YOU'RE JUST LEAVING IT THERE!?!  
  
Angry fans: (Run up holding torches and pitchforks)  
  
Starcatcher: (Stares) Of course...I guess I could always make it a bit longer...  
  
********************  
  
Five seconds later...  
  
"I'M GONNA KILL YOU TWO!!!" Davis shouted as he began chasing after Gatomon and Gennai, both of which were laughing their heads off. Leomon just sighed, shaking his head at the scene when Veemon appeared from the doorway and stood next to him.  
  
"What's going on?" He asked, looking up at the part lion Digimon.  
  
Leomon smiled slightly. "When Davis questioned them about your health, they made it seem like you didn't make it."  
  
"Ooooh..." He turned back to face the scene. "Hey Davish!"  
  
At the sound of his voice, Davis stopped in his tracks before changing his direction and running towards Veemon. "Veemon! I thought you were gonna die!" Davis cried out, hugging the blue dragon.  
  
Veemon grinned. "Well as you can see, I'm perfectly fine!"  
  
Davis smiled back before looking thoughtful. "That reminds me...I still have to kill Gennai and Gatomon! GET BACK HERE!!!" He shouted, taking off after the two again, dropping Veemon a bit carelessly on the ground.  
  
"Oh crap. I thought he forgot all about us!" Gennai stated before taking off running again, even though it was a bit hard considering he is still in his form as an old man. Okay, so for him it wasn't running...more like walking really, really fast...it's amazing how quickly you can go when you're fearing for your life...  
  
Gatomon glared at him as she ran beside him. "Hey, it was YOUR idea! You're the one who pushed me into going along with it too!"  
  
Still running, Gennai shrugged. "I didn't think he'd get so mad about it!"  
  
"Oy..."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..."  
  
After the two had taken off running, Davis started to go after them before deciding that it was too early...er...late to kill them at the time. Exhausted from his trip through the cave, he stumbled inside Gennai's house promptly fell asleep on the couch. Nearby, Veemon was watching his partner before turning to question Leomon. "Why is he so tired? The digimental couldn't have been that hard to get..."  
  
Leomon shook his head. "The area where the Digimental of Courage resides suffered an earthquake several years ago. That entire cave was submerged underground. The passage is still there, but it's much more treacherous. Until now, anyone who's gone in there hasn't returned..."  
  
Veemon gulped before taking another look at Davis. "Yikes...but if anyone could make it, Davish could! But why is he dressed differently?"  
  
Turning to face the young dragon, Leomon frowned. "What do you mean? Hasn't this happened before?"  
  
"No, his Digiworld outfit always stayed the same. I don't understand why it changed..."  
  
"Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that he now has our world's Digimental of Courage?"  
  
Veemon shrugged. "Maybe...but it never changed when we had gotten the digimentals in our world."  
  
Leomon smiled slightly. "Whatever the reason, I don't believe it's anything to worry about."  
  
"I hope you're right..."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Finally done!" Yolie grinned, standing up from her seat in front of the computer. She had stayed in the computer lab late after school to finish some extra work. Fortunately, she didn't have to help out at her family's store today. She shuddered, remembering what had happened just yesterday with that weirdo. He freaked her out, and the weirdest part was that it seemed as though he actually knew her. "Ah, forget it. I'll probably never see him again anyway." She mumbled to herself, turning off the computer and lights and closing the door behind her as she left.  
  
Barely a second after she exited the room, the computer she had just been using turned on by itself. The screen glowed brightly, lighting up the entire room. A glowing red orb shot out of the computer monitor and actually went crashing THROUGH the window of the door. Hearing the glass shatter, Yolie gasped and spun around only to see a red light flying towards her. She screamed, closed her eyes, and held her hands out in front of her in an attempt to ward it off, but it slowed down when it got closer to her and simply floated into her hands, then took on a solid form.  
  
Realizing that she was now holding something, Yolie opened her eyes and looked at the object in her hands. It looked like nothing she had ever seen. 'What's this? Some sort of mini-computer? And why did it charge at me like that?' Blinking a couple of times, she looked over the object carefully. 'Wait a minute! I've seen this before!' She gasped and nearly dropped it. 'This is just like the strange device that weird kid had, only the grip is red instead of blue!' Now she really wanted to drop it, but for some reason, couldn't make herself let go. 'But...does this mean...that what he said is true...?'  
  
Here's the thing. Yolie is the unpopular, commonly picked on, computer geek in her school. She's one of those people who always tries to find a rational reason for everything. And that's what she did. 'I must have been working too hard. I'm imagining things. Someone must have hit a ball through the window, and that light was just the glare from the sun. And this device...well...maybe someone just dropped it.' And with that, she headed home, but not before pocketing the digivice...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
In an apartment in Tamachi, a computer screen began to glow before a black light emerged. Yeah, it's sorta weird that a light can be black, but it is. The orb emerged from the computer and circled the room a few times before going inside a desk drawer, emitting a brighter flash of light before fading. No one was there to see the strange phenomenon.  
  
Outside the room, however, voices could be heard...  
  
"Ken, your principal called."  
  
"..."  
  
"He said you were in another fight! That's the fifth time this month!"  
  
"And you're barely passing any of your classes. You teachers say that you don't pay attention or participate."  
  
"And you don't have that many friends. The only ones are those two kids you hang out with, but they're a bad influence on you."  
  
"..."  
  
"Ken, we know you can do better than this. We just want what's best for you and we hate seeing you like this."  
  
"If you keep going down this road, you won't have a very good future."  
  
"Why can't you be more like your brother, Sam?"  
  
"..."  
  
"He makes straight A's and never gets into fights. We would never get a call from the principal complaining about him."  
  
"..."  
  
"Well? Don't you have anything to say?"  
  
"..."  
  
"You're grounded Ken. Go to your room and do your homework. You're to come straight home after school and do your homework. We'd like to at least see you make a B in one of your classes..."  
  
'Finally...thought they'd never shut up.' Ken thought to himself as he closed the door behind him once he was safe inside his room. The shades were down and the lights were off, leaving the room completely dark except for the glow of the computer screen. That was fine with him though, he liked the dark. It was so calming.  
  
Lying on his bed, he thought over the recent events. 'This sucks. It's always Sam this and Sam that. Why can't they just accept me as I am?' He wondered. However, his thoughts soon drifted to the strange boy who stood up to him yesterday. 'Funny, but it seemed like the guy somehow knew me. And what did he mean when he asked me where my kindness went?'  
  
He shrugged, deciding to forget about his weird encounter. 'Eh, he's probably just some punk trying to freak me out.' He turned away from the glow of the computer screen, closing his eyes and letting sleep take him.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Cody glared at the strange device in his hand before throwing it into the waste basket in his room. 'What a moron. Trying to freak me out with stories of 'Digimon' and crap. Screw him. I'm not falling for it.' With that, he turned and walked over to his bed, sitting down and trying to think of anything but the strange guy telling crazy stories. Unintentionally, his gaze fell on the waste basket, and when he realized this, he slapped himself a few times.  
  
"Wake up Cody. It's not real. Just some freak playing with your mind, that's all." With that, he left the room, not noticing the strange glow coming from the waste basket...  
  
********************  
  
Starcatcher: That's it for this chapter. I hope you all liked it.  
  
Yolie: Wait a minute, when will we actually be joining in?  
  
Starcatcher: If not the next chapter, then the one after it. The new Dark Masters will make their appearance next chapter.  
  
EA: Unless, of course, we lose motivation and inspiration.  
  
Starcatcher: Which we shall try our hardest not to let happen.  
  
EA: Hopefully if we're lucky, we'll be able to work out the next chapter so it won't take as long.  
  
Davis: And if anyone has any requests, feel free to sent them in.  
  
Starcatcher: I'm gonna see if I can actually write this well enough...  
  
EA: (Looks over rewritten script) Ooooh...(Wince)...wouldn't wanna be Ken...  
  
Veemon: Review please! 


	7. Chapter 6: Operation Rescue Part 1 Infil...

Starcatcher: Here we go. The next chapter.  
  
EA: And we got more reviews! Thanks everyone!  
  
Starcatcher: Now we had a bit of a problem getting this chapter out.  
  
EA: The problem being that we weren't sure exactly how we should write it.  
  
Starcatcher: But as you can see, that's fixed now.  
  
EA: (Sighs sadly) We don't own Digimon. (Begins crying)  
  
Davis: There, there...(Hugs EA, patting her on the back)  
  
Kari: (Glares)  
  
EA: (Smirks)  
  
Davis: (Doesn't notice)  
  
Kari: (Fumes)  
  
EA: (Sticks out tongue)  
  
Kari: (Mutters death threats under her breath)  
  
EA: (Flips off Kari)  
  
Kari: (Pulls out sword)  
  
EA: (Looks a bit worried)  
  
Kari: (Advances on EA, cackling evilly)  
  
EA: (Runs)  
  
Kari: (Chases her)  
  
Davis: (Stares)  
  
Starcatcher: (Starts fic)  
  
********************  
  
"Wow..." Tenshi breathed. "That was pretty freaky. How are your hands?"  
  
Davis formed a fist with each hand. "Just fine, considering."  
  
She shook her head. "I can't even begin to imagine...walking for hours on end on a somewhat injured leg, not having slept for almost two days, nearly getting killed in a cave in only to get a digimental that nearly burns your hands off...then having to walk for several more hours just to be tricked into thinking your partner died."  
  
Veemon snickered. "Actually, it was pretty funny."  
  
"For you maybe...I'M the one who went through the whole ordeal. You just stayed at Gennai's house, scarfing down ice cream the whole time."  
  
At that, Veemon's eyes glazed over and he began drooling slightly. "And what a wonderful time that was..."  
  
Davis shook his head. "I was just glad we made it through that okay. Fortunately, for some strange reason my leg had healed rather quickly. My hands were still burned, but they weren't as bad. I'm thinking it had something to do with us being in the Digital World. At the start of our adventures, Kari's ankle was injured trying to get away from a controlled Monochromon, but it was just fine minutes later."  
  
"Or maybe she was just faking it." Veemon muttered. A look from Davis made him shut his mouth though.  
  
"So what happened next?" Tenshi inquired.  
  
"Well..."  
  
####################  
  
'I hate my life...I really, really hate my life...'  
  
Yes, yes, you're probably wondering 'what now'? Veemon and Davis were kneeling behind some bushes in the cover of the forest as they found themselves staring at a rather large and not very pleasant looking facility. Even though it was surrounded by trees and it was still midday, the area seemed completely desolate and...well...to be blunt, dead. There were high walls surrounding the seemingly small building, and a wide space, sort of a courtyard, in which many Digimon could be seen. It was hard to tell just from looking at the place itself that the prison was in fact, much MUCH larger than it first appeared, mainly because most of it was underground. Through the doors led the way to the cells in which the Digimon were kept when they weren't working. Outside, there was an opening in the ground that led to the tunnels in which the captured Digimon were forced to constantly mine the ore which made up the dark rings and control spires.  
  
Needless to say, it was terrible. The captured Digimon there weren't even under the control of the dark rings. In fact, very few were. The guards were comprised of Digimon who had decided to work under the Dark Masters willingly, and it looked as though they were better off for it. The prisoners were mostly rookies though there were a few champions and perhaps even an ultimate. One would think that since there were more prisoners than guards, they could just break out at any time, however, they looked sickly. They obviously weren't well fed, nor did they appear to get as much sleep as they needed, leaving them in a weakened state so that they wouldn't have the strength to oppose their captors, who were not only cowards, but cruel and malicious as well. Clubs and whips were at their disposal, and it was obvious that they used them frequently. It wasn't only that the conditions were horrible, but also the fact that the ore itself contained, in some strange way, a sort of poison that made the Digimon weaker, which led to the deletion of several prisoners each day.  
  
Yes, some tried to retaliate, but those who did were often sent to the lowest level of the mines, deep underground, where the most ore could be found. There was no mercy on that level. Digimon sent to the deepest parts of the mine did not come back...or if they did, they didn't return the same way they were before. And the fear of that fate, including the lack of faith that they would ever be free, caused the Digimon to work quietly, obey all commands, and never attempt to fight back. Many gave up completely and succumbed to despair, becoming more like machines and only continued following the same routine day after day. There were still some, however, who believed that their nightmare would end, and it was these few, given strength by this belief, who usually lasted longer than others. Yet eventually, they too began to give up on ever being free.  
  
"Are you two really gonna go through with it?" Came a voice. Looking behind them, they saw two figures emerge from the bushes, revealing themselves to be the Koromon they had helped before and the Gotsumon who was so distrustful of them. The Koromon stared up at them, looking a little worried...maybe even afraid. Yes, all the Digimon knew what happened in those prisons. Even the youngest, and the Dark Masters don't make exceptions...except for the strongest, who are most often put under the control of the dark rings...assuming they live long enough. Gotsumon glanced over at the facility and shuddered.  
  
Davis frowned, then shrugged. At least they weren't afraid or distrustful of them anymore. It was kinda sweet actually. Snapping back to reality, he shook his head and turned back to face the same dreary looking building they were spying on before. "We have to. It's the right thing."  
  
Veemon groaned, though quietly so that they couldn't be heard by the extremely big and scary guards positioned around the base. "Why do we always have to do the right thing? Can't we just do the SAFE thing and NOT go in there?"  
  
"Oh come on. You don't mean that, do you Veemon?"  
  
The blue dragon sighed. "No. I know we have to go in, but I think the problem will be getting OUT."  
  
Gotsumon rolled his eyes. "It's impossible! No one is crazy enough to actually GO in there! It's suicide!"  
  
"Maybe...but we've gotta try!" Davis stated.  
  
Koromon smiled. "You'll make it! I know you will!"  
  
"Nice to know SOMEONE thinks we can pull this off..." Davis muttered, remembering what happened earlier.  
  
~~~~~*FLASHBACK!!!*~~~~~  
  
"WHAT!?!"  
  
Gennai sighed. Fortunately, Davis had forgotten about wanting to kill him for the stunt he and Gatomon pulled, but now there was another problem. "You're going on your first mission." It had been a couple of days since the incident and now they had both been called by Gennai and informed that they were to be sent on a potentially dangerous, but certainly not life-threatening (yeah right) mission.  
  
Davis groaned. "Oh come on! I just got back from the 'Cave That Never Ends', and now you expect me to go on some mission when I'm still recovering from the last one?"  
  
"Actually...it was two." Veemon stated.  
  
The goggled boy rolled his eyes. "Okay, two."  
  
Sighing once again, Gennai took his mind away from his current project and attempted to get the boy to see reason. "But we don't have time to waste. Besides, you DID say you wanted to help..."  
  
"Me and my big mouth..." Davis sighed, giving in. "Okay, what is it then?"  
  
Gennai cleared his throat before starting. "One of our undercover members has been captured and taken to one of the Digimon Prison Camps, or DPC's, where the Digimon are forced to mine for the stones the Dark Masters use to make the dark rings and control spires."  
  
"Huh...I always wondered where they came from..." Veeemon mentioned aloud.  
  
"He happens to hold some information we need, not to mention that if it's discovered he's one of the resistance members, they'll try to force him to reveal our weaknesses. He's been a good friend and ally to us and we can't just leave him there." Gatomon explained since Gennai had gone back to tinkering with Davis's D-3 and D-terminal.  
  
Davis nodded. "I see. So Veemon and I are gonna sneak in and break him out."  
  
Veemon jumped up. "Oh! Oh! Will this be like one of those spy movies where Davis and I have secret identities and we break into the base using a bunch of high-tech stuff with the lasers and the guns and the kick-ass cars and the evil villain with the cat and the 'do you expect me to talk' and the 'no, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die' and we escape with the prisoners and the base blows up in a firey explosion with the 'BOOOOOOM!!!'?" Amazing how he said it all in one breath.  
  
They all just stared at him. Davis turned to the others and grinned sheepishly. "Uh...heh, heh...let 'im watch a few too many spy movies..." Everyone just shrugged.  
  
"Finished!" Gennai stated, holding up Davis's Digivice and D-Terminal. "Now you're all set with a map of the new terrain. The location of the base is already there for you, and once you get inside, it should give a rough blueprint of the inside of the base, as well as in what area our member is being held."  
  
"Don't worry, guys. We'll get him out of there and back in one piece." Davis stated as he rose to his feet and headed out the door as Gennai and Gatomon waved, Leomon nodded, and Veemon gave a sort of salute. A second later, Davis stomped back into the room and grabbed Veemon. "You're coming too!"  
  
"Aw dangit..." Veemon whined as he was dragged along.  
  
"Hey, you have no reason to complain!"  
  
"Yes I do! I nearly died a few days ago!"  
  
"And I nearly died trying to rescue you, only I didn't get to have any food or peaceful night's sleep!"  
  
"Heh, heh...oh yeah..." And with that, they were out of earshot.  
  
About a minute after the two left, Gatomon turned to the other two in the room. Deep down, she tried to keep being optimistic. Sure it wasn't her style, but it was times like this that they needed to remain hopeful, no matter how bad the situation appeared. The arrival of this new Digidestined and Digimon had helped them to believe that maybe there was a chance they could win. "Think they'll make it?"  
  
"It'd take a miracle." Gennai answered.  
  
Gee...what confidence...  
  
~~~~~*END FLASHBACK!!!*~~~~~  
  
Davis stood, still hiding behind one of the trees and keeping out of sight of the base. "Well...this is it then..." He stated, pulling his goggles down over his eyes instead of on his head like he normally did. He didn't notice, but the lens had darkened in a way that prevented others from seeing through, though he could see just fine. Sort of like a one-sided mirror.  
  
"Um...question?" Veemon raised his hand, gaining their attention.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Just HOW are we gonna get in there anyway?"  
  
There was a moment of silence as Davis just stood there, while the other three stared at him, wondering what his plan was. "Actually..." Davis smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. "I have absolutely no idea." They fell over in shock.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"I can't believe we're actually doing this..."  
  
"Quiet! They'll hear you!"  
  
So what plan did they decide on to sneak into the prison? They came up with several ideas. Veemon's involved Davis pretending to be Tai coming there on a routine check. However, there was the problem that the real Tai or any of the other kids could happen to come along and they'll be caught in the act. Plus the fact that though Davis did look similar to Tai, he was a few years younger and didn't know how Tai has changed so whether or not his acting would convince the guards was questionable.  
  
Barging right in was a definite out. They were completely outnumbered and just didn't have enough power to take on all the guards on their own. Davis even thought of trying to go under the camp and sneak in from beneath the ground, but that would have taken too much time and they didn't know where in the camp they would actually wind up in.  
  
An hour passed with no plan of action. Then something happened which could only be considered as some sort of divine intervention. It just so happened that a couple of guards slacking off out of sight of their superiors let slip near the group's location that a shipment of supplies was due to arrive that day. Of course this was just before one of the Meramon showed up and chewed them out for sneaking off. Once all three were gone, Davis and Veemon turned and grinned at each other. What happened next was sheer brilliance.  
  
Okay, so what if Davis saw it in a movie? It still worked. Heading back through the trees and nearly out of sight of the base, they found a rather poorly made dirt road. In fact, at first glance, they wouldn't have even known it was a road at all. And along came the rickety cart being drawn by a Monochromon which would be their passage to hell. With a well placed headbutt on Veemon's part, a tree went crashing to the ground right in the path of the cart, bringing it to a halt.  
  
The driver, a Pumpkinmon, cursed his luck. Truthfully, he hated his job. He hated the fact that he had to supply the greedy cowards who turned over their own friends to the Dark Masters with food that the prisoners wouldn't be getting, no matter how much more they needed it than the guards did. The only reason he was even in this position was because a friend of his was in that camp, and this was the only way to ensure he lived. And to think...they actually helped two of those kids all those years ago. He sighed, trying to shove the tree to the side with the help of the Monochromon. Neither noticed the two figures sneak onto the cart. Finally clearing the road after several curses and insults, they were back on the road again.  
  
There you have it. Davis and Veemon hiding in a cart being taken into a prison. Sound cliche? That's okay. Originality wasn't really an issue here. Just whether or not it worked mattered. They felt they were going to go insane from the anticipation before they ever even got there, but they held out and kept quiet untill finally, the cart pulled to a stop right in front of the huge iron gates leading to the prison.  
  
"Hello again Pumpkinmon." The guard, a Bakumon, greeted, though not in a very nice way.  
  
"Just let me through." Pumpkinmon demanded.  
  
"Fine, fine, but first things first...gotta check the cart. Standard procedure."  
  
Davis and Veemon gulped, but before they had the chance to move, the Bakumon was already behind the cart. He pushed aside the curtain, peered inside the cart, and gasped. Davis closed his eyes, praying to whatever higher being is watching over them that they somehow get out of this alive. The guard smirked, sinisterly, and pulled the whistle around his neck to his lips. A shrill cry echoed throughout the area...  
  
And the gates opened.  
  
"Go on through. Heh, can't wait to try Digitamamon's new dish!" Bakumon exclaimed, licking his lips in anticipation.  
  
Once they were past the gates, the two heaved a small sigh of relief. But they weren't in the clear yet. Pumpkinmon hurried the cart through the courtyard, not wanting to have to look at any of the prisoners there. He felt in a way, that he had betrayed them by helping the Dark Masters. Soon, they were inside the building itself and the cart continued down the pathway that began to slope downward as they continued until they reached a large room that served as a sort of storage area. Finally stopping the cart, Pumpkinmon sighed. "Time to check in with the warden." He muttered darkly as he exited. A few minutes passed without a sound till finally...  
  
*THUD!*  
  
"Owww..." Davis groaned, rubbing his head where it hit the ground after his grip finally gave out and he fell from beneath the cart.  
  
"Davish! You okay?" Veemon questioned after hopping out of the cart, rubbing his arms which were sore from holding himself onto the ceiling of the cart and out of view.  
  
"Just peachy." The boy grumbled, rising to his feet.  
  
"So where to now?"  
  
Davis pulled out his D-3 and found the map that Gennai had downloaded onto it. "As Izzy would say: Prodigious!"  
  
Veemon stared. "So where do we go?"  
  
"We're in the storage area right now...so the cells are on the next level. The elevator is down the hall." He stole a quick glance into the hall and found it momentarily empty. "If we're gonna go, now would be the best time."  
  
Keeping low and against the wall, they rushed towards the elevator and within minutes were on their way to the level below listening to the elevator music play. It would have been funny if the situation weren't so serious. After what seemed like an eternity, the doors opened, revealing a sorry sight.  
  
Cells...no, more like cages. Rows and rows of them along the walls. They were rather small, leaving little room for the prisoners to move. Worse yet was that several of them held at least two or three Digimon in one cage. They didn't speak. They didn't move. It was hard to tell if any of them were even alive. Veemon looked around, saddened at the sense of despair and horrified that anyone could be this cruel. Davis was mad. No, not just mad. He was pissed to the point that he wanted to punch something. He had always been a big believer in doing what's right...and this was definitely not right! Just the thought that anyone could do this to living creatures made him sick. He shook his head. Now wasn't the time to be angry. They still had a Digimon to rescue.  
  
All the prisoners were asleep, trying to get as much rest as they could before they would be called out again, so none of them noticed Davis and Veemon. "He should be somewhere on this level. I'll go get him and you stay here and stand guard in case anyone comes." Davis whispered.  
  
Veemon nodded. "Be careful."  
  
"Aren't I always?" Davis grinned as the blue dragon rolled his eyes. Chuckling softly, Davis made his way down the hall, following the miniature map in his hand. Though he tried not to, he couldn't help but glance at the Digimon trapped in the rows and rows of cages. Barely moving, barely breathing, they looked ready to die. He knew he had to help them.  
  
"Who are you?" Questioned a voice. Davis turned to see that one of the prisoners wasn't like the others. This one was backed up against the corner of his cell, cloaked in darkness, making it near impossible to distinguish any features. Davis gulped as the figure leaned forward a bit to get a better look, revealing itself to be an Impmon. "You're one of the humans!" He spat. "What are ya doing down here? Are ya here to mock us?"  
  
Davis shook his head and held his hands out in front of him in a non-threatening manner. "No! I'm a human, but I'm not with the Dark Masters! I'm here to--"  
  
"Hah! Sure...of course you're with the Dark Masters. You have to be. They're the only humans in this world."  
  
"Not anymore."  
  
"Oh sure...fine then, Mr. 'I'm not like them', then just why are ya here?"  
  
"I'm here to help. Gennai sent me."  
  
"Yeah right...this just sounds more pathetic as it continues. Go on...get out of here and leave us to die."  
  
"No! I'm not leaving! I can't let down Gatomon or the others!" Davis exclaimed, nearly shouting due to frustration.  
  
"Gatomon? Do you know Gatomon?" Came a softer and nicer voice on the opposite side.  
  
Davis turned to face the other one who had spoken and nodded. "Yes, I know Gatomon. Are you with the rebels?"  
  
The Digimon nodded. Davis could have sworn he was smiling, though it was hard to tell because his face below his eyes was covered by the cuff of his cloak. He was a bit shorter than Davis, but he wore a hat that resembled a black mage's from any of the final fanatsy games, making him appear much taller. He looked very familiar, however Davis just couldn't place where he had seen this guy before. But this must be the guy he and Veemon were there to rescue. The symbol on the Digivice blinked, showing that they had found their objective. "Yes, I'm with the resistance. My name is Wizardmon."  
  
That's when it hit him. Wizardmon! Davis hadn't known the guy himself, but he had seen him once before when his ghost gave Gatomon a message about the future fight with Ken when he was still the Digimon Emperor. This guy was best friends with Gatomon, and died to protect Kari. Yet here he was...alive. As if things couldn't get any stranger.  
  
Davis shook his head. No time to waste on that now. "I'm gonna get you out of here."  
  
Impmon laughed loudly. "Fat chance. The doors can't be opened without the key."  
  
"Where's the key?" Davis demanded.  
  
"On the guards, duh. Really, are you that big of a moron?" He taunted.  
  
Sending a glare at the annoying Digimon, Davis headed back the way he came. "I'll be back with the key!"  
  
"I wouldn't hold my breath." Impmon muttered.  
  
Wizardmon sighed, worriedly. 'Please let them be okay.'  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Far away, deep in a forest on the continent of Server, a small Digimon made his way through the underbrush. There used to be all different sorts of Digimon in that forest...but as each day went by, more and more were taken by the Dark Masters and either put under the control of the dark rings, or are forced to work in the camps. Eventually, the Digimon who were left decided to leave the once safe forest in search of a place where they could hide from the terror of the Dark Masters and weren't seen since. This lone Digimon, however, remained in the forest that was its home.  
  
Why didn't it go with the others? No one could say for sure. It's not that they didn't allow it to come with them. They asked it, even pleaded with it to leave with them, yet it refused. Not finding any way to convince it otherwise, they disappeared without a trace and the lone Digimon stayed behind in the forest. If they did manage to find a hiding place where they could be safe from the Dark Masters and their army, it would probably never know. It simply lived out its days collecting food to survive and keeping out of sight of the numerous soldiers and controlled Digimon that constantly intruded upon the forest.  
  
Yet they stopped coming nowadays. Apparently, they feared the forest and the so-called 'ghosts' that were said to inhabit that area. It smiled. Maybe that really was all it was now. Just a spirit, refusing to move on in an attempt to keep a promise that most likely had been long forgotten. The smile faded. Why didn't he come back?  
  
It's been such a long time...for years it waited, refusing to leave on the belief that he would return one day. Yet he never came. Why? They were such good friends. Did he hate it now? Did he forget? Was he even still alive? The small Digimon sighed. A promise was a promise. It wouldn't leave. So many times it thought of going on a journey to search for its friend, but each time decided against it, worried of what would happen if his friend finally arrived only to find it gone.  
  
'Where are you?' The Digimon wondered, looking up at the different shapes of the clouds in the sky and remembered a time when it didn't have to watch them alone.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Veemon sighed. This sucked...this really, really sucked. Just when the fighting was finally over, they were dragged into another situation. They didn't have to be here...they weren't supposed to be here. If Gennai was right, this isn't their world, this is a completely different reality. So why were they getting involved?  
  
He sighed again, knowing the answer. It's because they couldn't just ignore those in need. Not just Davis, but himself as well. It was against their nature. Neither of them believed in sacrificing the few to save the many. That's why they were so against the possibility that they would have to destroy the older Digidestined. They wanted to save everybody. But Veemon couldn't help but wonder...would they be able to this time?  
  
"Hey Veemon!"  
  
He turned around and smiled when he saw Davis. "Did you find him?"  
  
Davis nodded, gesturing behind him. "He's back there, but we need the key."  
  
"We can just knock out a guard and get the key. Then we can rescue the member and get the hell out of here!"  
  
Davis shook his head. "What about all the other Digimon? We can't just leave them here!"  
  
Veemon groaned. He knew Davis better than he knew himself and therefore knew what was coming. "Don't tell me...you're going to say that we should save them."  
  
"Of course!"  
  
"I TOLD YOU NOT TO TELL ME!!!"  
  
"Quiet Veemon!" Davis whispered harshly, but it was too late. Barely a few seconds later, the guards arrived and had them completely surrounded. Davis sent Veemon a glare, while the blue dragon Digimon laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.  
  
"Uh...heh heh...oops?"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Theresnoplacelikehometheresnoplacelikehometheresnoplacelikehome..."  
  
"Veemon, would you knock it off already? That didn't work the first hundred times you did it, and all you're doing is giving me a headache..." Davis stated. The two were currently holed up in a cell next to Wizardmon's. This cell was apparently made to hold a champion, and was therefore, much bigger. Davis suspected that they were both in there because the guards weren't sure how to handle him since he was a human. On the other side of the long stretch of cages, Impmon laughed at them. It was really annoying, but they just ignored him and he eventually got tired and shut up.  
  
The little blue dragon rolled his eyes in response. "Well excuse me..."  
  
"There's still a chance we could get out of here...like maybe plan #5?" Davis wondered.  
  
"It's no use! We're doomed! DOOMED!"  
  
Davis narrowed his eyes at his partner. "Hey, this is your fault you know."  
  
"My fault? How is this MY fault?"  
  
"If you had just kept your mouth shut..."  
  
"Hey, I'm not the one who said we had to save everyone! We could have just left after we found Wizardmon, but nooooo, you had to be the big hero. Now we're stuck here as well thanks to you!"  
  
"You'd still be stuck under a rock all alone if it weren't for me!"  
  
"WELL IT'S BETTER THAN BEING TRAPPED IN A CELL WITH YOU!"  
  
"After all I did for you...THIS is the thanks I get?"  
  
"WHAT!?! All you ever did was stand at the sidelines where it's safe while I risked my life! Then when it's all over, you acted like you actually DID something useful!"  
  
"HEY! I gave you food, a home, and my friendship! I wouldn't have even been anywhere NEAR those battles if I didn't get involved with you! Really, why the hell did I agree to join in the first place!?!"  
  
"I've been wondering the same thing Mr. Clueless! You can't even go five minutes without embarassing yourself!"  
  
"THIS coming from a little blue midget! I'd like to see you last ONE DAY without me!"  
  
"Maybe this isn't the best time..." Wizardmon was a little worried, but could you blame him? His so-called rescuers were fighting amongst themselves. Yep...at this rate, he was never getting out of here.  
  
Impmon on the other hand, laughed. "Eh, let 'em kill each other. At least there'll be something worth seeing before we all go to that big recycle bin in the sky."  
  
"YOU'RE JUST A LOUD-MOUTH BRAINLESS MORON WHOSE ONLY USE WOULD BE SMASHING ROCKS WITH YOUR BIG HEAD!" Veemon shouted, jumping to his feet and pushing Davis.  
  
Davis, not going to take this, pushed back harder. "AT LEAST I DON'T SUCK MY THUMB LIKE A CERTAIN SOMEONE WHO CAN'T EVEN BOIL WATER WITHOUT BLOWING SOMETHING UP!"  
  
"THAT'S IT!" He rammed Davis into the wall. The boy glared and jumped too his feet, tackling Veemon, or at least trying to considering the limited amount of room they had to move in the cage. The end result was a full blown fight loud enough to gain the attention of the other inmates and leave them staring.  
  
"Please stop this! You're supposed to be partners! You shouldn't be fighting each other!" Wizardmon cried.  
  
"KEEP OUT OF THIS!" Both shouted before returning to their scuffle. They were causing such a scene that a couple of guards arrived less than a minute later to break them up. The RedVeggimon took out the keys and quickly opened the cell door, though it appeared that neither of the two combatants were listening.  
  
"All right! Stop it, the both of you!" The other guard, a Gazimon, ordered, trying to force them apart. However, they didn't notice the smirk that suddenly formed on Davis's face till...  
  
*WHAM!*  
  
*POW!*  
  
Less than a minute later, the two guards were on the ground, knocked out with swirlies for eyes. Taking the keys out of the hand of one of the guards, Davis grinned. "Heh...knew it'd work."  
  
Impmon stared. "You...PLANNED that?"  
  
He nodded. "Yep. It was the best way I think of to get us out of here. We just had to pretend we were mad at each other."  
  
Veemon blinked. "You were pretending?"  
  
Davis fell over. "What!?!" He pulled himself back to his feet, sending a 'look' at Veemon. The blue Digimon laughed sheepishly, and Davis only sighed and shook his head. "Forget it. Come on! We've still gotta free everyone!"  
  
"Roger, roger!"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Alone, a teenage girl sat on her bed in the darkened apartment, staring at the object on the other side of the room. Her parents weren't there, being too busy working. They never seemed to have time for her anymore. Of course she knew why...it haunted her too. The incident occured years ago and it still stuck with them. Maybe being with her reminded her parents too much of what they lost.  
  
She was only sixteen, but she felt so much older. She closed her eyes, remembering life how it used to be. She was more friendly and outgoing then, not to mention a bit hyper, but always happy. And now...she was quiet...depressed...sluggish. She just wasn't herself anymore. Her friends tried to help her, but it's been years and no change, so many finally gave up and left her to wallow in depression. The few true friends she had still stuck by her, so at least she wasn't completely alone. She smiled, thinking of how much they meant to her. No, it was very unlikely she would have even made it this far without them.  
  
Sighing, she laid on her back on the bed, the thoughts of days long past filled her mind as she continued to recall the few happy times she had. How she and her friends used to hang out at the mall trying to look cool like the high school kids. How her family would spend the weekends together, doing all sorts of different activities. How he would always smile at her after...  
  
Her eyes snapped open. Him. Why, of all people, did it have to happen to him? He was such a good person...he didn't deserve such an early end...  
  
She sat up, her gaze once more falling on the strange object sitting on her desk. Why did it come to her? She wasn't worthy of handling such power, but still...if it came to her...there must be a reason. She thought back to a few days earlier, remembering the strange boy she had seen walking down the street. It just wasn't possible, but he looked just like he probably would have if he had lived. But was it really him? Did he actually survive that day somehow? If so, why didn't he ever let them know?  
  
She groaned. Something was definitely going on here. Sending another look at the object on her desk next to her computer, she smiled. At least this time, she'll be able to do something and won't just have to stand by like she did that day. Speaking of which...  
  
The clock read 4 p.m. She smiled, half-heartedly. Only eight more hours to go. Wonder if they'll remember this year? With a shrug, she stood and left the room, closing the door behind her. In the dark quiet of the enclosed space, the screen on the violet object she had been staring at glowed and a strange symbol formed. Just as suddenly as it came, the light disappeared, leaving the room in total darkness once more.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Somewhere...  
  
"Hey guys, look at this!" One of the eight figures exclaimed. He turned to face the others, frowing. What? You want details? Fine, fine. He had spikey dark red hair, and inquisitive brown eyes that held much intelligence. He wore an outfit similar to Geo from Magic Knights Rayearth, including the headgear, with which the cables were attached to a computer, allowing him to access what information he needed without being near the keyboard.  
  
Another stepped forward into the light of the screen. He wore a suit similar to the Digimon Emperor's, only instead of a leotard, he also wore armor much like that of Lafarga from MKR, only the armor was orange-red and the cape and pants were black. His hair was a dark brown, and looked like a bird's nest could be made out of it. He was the fighter. He was the leader.  
  
He was Tai.  
  
Tai glanced over the computer screen, his brown, almost black eyes gleaming in the pale light. "What have we here, Izzy? An escape attempt?"  
  
Izzy nodded, the wires bobbing behind him. "Two of the guards are down. Several more are on their way. It looks like they were tricked when two of the prisoners began fighting. Heh, what fools." His eyes widened in shock as he read over a new piece of information. "It can't be!"  
  
"What is it?" Questioned a female. Tai turned and smiled at her. Sora...only not the same one Davis once knew. If he saw her now, he'd probably freak. No longer the same good-hearted girl, Sora was a warrior now. She even wore armor, much like that of Rikku as a Warrior in FFX-2.  
  
Izzy turned to face the two. "There's a human in there!"  
  
"So? It's probably just TK or Matt." Sora scoffed.  
  
"No, this human is freeing them." With a few commands, a window on the screen opened, showing a shot of a human male directing escaping Digimon past the guards and to freedom. Who it was, they couldn't tell. For one thing, they didn't know Davis in this time, and for another, he was wearing his goggles, which safely covered his eyes and somehow prevented them from getting an exact fix on his face.  
  
"Huh...so there's another Digidestined..." Tai thought aloud, then shrugged and turned away as though it were no big deal. "He must be new then...he should be easily taken out. Send TK in there."  
  
Izzy nodded. "He's on his way."  
  
Sora smiled at Tai. "The poor fool...just like we used to be."  
  
Tai laughed, wrapping his arms around her. "Lets see if he really does have what it takes to be a Digidestined."  
  
********************  
  
Starcatcher: That's it for Part 1 of Operation Rescue.  
  
EA: Guess what? We've got a pool now!  
  
Starcatcher: No we don't.  
  
EA: We don't? But it says right here there's a pool!  
  
Starcatcher: That's a typo. It's a poll.  
  
EA: Oh...crud.  
  
Poll 1: Should the Digidestined gain special powers/abilities?  
  
Poll 2: Should we allow the use of different types of digivolution like Biomerging or Spirit evolution?  
  
Poll 3: Should the old Dark Masters from Season 1 be revived?  
  
Starcatcher: That's it then.  
  
EA: Here's a little topic of interest...requests. Any people you'd like to see brought in? Any attacks or abilities you want to see used? Anything in particular you would like to see happen? Just ask and you shall recieve.  
  
Starcatcher: But no asking to kill off Davis or make this a Takari.  
  
EA: Yeah! This will be DAIKARI...except for that one bit with...  
  
Starcatcher: EA, I'm warning you...  
  
EA: (Smiles innocently)  
  
Davis: Review please!  
  
EA: Flame please!  
  
(Pause...)  
  
Everyone: (Stare)  
  
EA: Seriously! We need a fire going here...a nice strong blaze. (Evil grin)  
  
(Pan out to reveal TK tied to a spit over a pile of dry wood.)  
  
TK: No flames! NO FLAMES!!!  
  
EA: (Shoves an apple into TK's mouth) He doesn't mean it. FLAME! FLAME US NOW!!!  
  
Starcatcher: (Stares, then smacks forehead) Oy vey... 


	8. Chapter 7: Operation Rescue Part 2 The F...

EA: And here we go again...  
  
Starcatcher: Sorry it took so long, but we're finally out with another chapter.  
  
Kari: Veemon VS MagnaAngemon.  
  
TK: No contest there. MagnaAngemon would win in less than a minute!  
  
Davis: No way!  
  
TK: Lets think about this...MagnaAngemon is an ultimate...and Veemon's a rookie who can only go up to champion on his own, and he can't even do that because of the control spires.  
  
Davis: Then I'll have him armor-digivolve!  
  
TK: (Rolls eyes) Please...an armor Digimon can't beat an ultimate.  
  
Davis: What about Magnamon? I seem to recall him beating Kimeramon, who also happens to be an ultimate.  
  
TK: He barely won that battle.  
  
Davis: I didn't see you or any of the others help him. Only Wormmon did and he's a rookie!  
  
TK: Well you can't have Veemon digivolve to Magnamon anyway since you don't have the Digimental of Miracles! So you can't beat me! HAH!  
  
EA: But I can! BEHOLD! FLAMES!  
  
TK: What!?!  
  
EA: We got two flames...one from Master Leonheart and the other from Lord Shinji.  
  
TK: (Looks over reviews) Hey! These aren't flames!  
  
EA: Close enough! (Ties TK to post over a pile of wood, then tosses the two reviews on the pile, which instantly lights on fire)  
  
TK: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!  
  
Davis: (Roasting marshmallows over the flames) Who wants smores?  
  
Veemon: Oh! Me! Me!  
  
Gatomon: Count me in!  
  
Kari: I'd like some!  
  
TK: You too Kari?  
  
Patamon: (Happily munching on an already made pile of smores) Yum!  
  
TK: PATAMON!  
  
EA: (Cackles evilly)  
  
Starcatcher: (Reads the reviews, then glances over at EA) You know...these really don't count as flames seeing as how they don't actually insult us in any way.  
  
EA: Eh, what're ya gonna do?  
  
Starcatcher: You're just using them as flames because you want to hurt TK.  
  
EA: Now what ever gave you that idea?  
  
Starcatcher: Your "To Do List" for one...  
  
(EA pulls out "To Do List" and looks over. The entries include: burn TK, smash TK with mallet, chop off TK's head, drop anvil on TK, take over world, drown TK, confirm evidence that TK stole Gilligan's hat, push TK off cliff, kill Kari, and get rights to Digimon, which no one here owns.)  
  
Kari: WHAT!?!  
  
Starcatcher: Wow...she worked the disclaimer into her list.  
  
Kari: What about the fact she wants to KILL ME!?!  
  
Starcatcher: Oh, she can't do that.  
  
EA: Aww...why not?  
  
Starcatcher: Because, we need Kari in order to continue the story.  
  
Kari: (Grins and cuddles with Davis)  
  
EA: (Mutters darkly)  
  
Starcatcher: Now, this chapter's shoutout goes to Anthony1, Master Leonheart, yeah, and Ran Hoshino.  
  
EA: Since they were the only four who voted on the poll.  
  
Starcatcher: Speaking of which...  
  
Poll 1: Should the Digidestined gain special powers/abilities?  
  
Yes - 1  
  
No - 2  
  
Poll 2: Should we allow the use of different types of digivolution like Biomerging or Spirit evolution?  
  
Yes - 3  
  
No - 0  
  
Poll 3: Should the old Dark Masters from Season 1 be revived?  
  
Yes - 1  
  
No - 2  
  
EA: Aww...I wanted to see them fight with kick ass powers!  
  
Starcatcher: (Shrugs) Readers' decision.  
  
Davis: Will we at least get to use some weapons?  
  
Starcatcher: Maybe.  
  
Kari: Cool, wonder what sort of weapons we'll get?  
  
Starcatcher: Guess that's it then.  
  
TK: HELLO!?! GUY ON FIRE HERE!!! Isn't ANYONE going to do anything!?!  
  
EA: He's right... (Pulls out a pan and holds it over the flames, waiting a few seconds before a distinct continuous popping sound is heard) Who wants popcorn?  
  
Starcatcher: (Sighs) Oh for the love of...  
  
********************  
  
"Come on people! Move it!"  
  
"That's right! This way."  
  
"Keep it coming. Hey! Quit pushing, you'll all get out of here!"  
  
How many Digimon were in that place? They had lost count. Of course the Digimon were distrustful of Davis, but hey, freedom is freedom. They decided to take advantage of the situation and escape now, then ask questions later. From outside, the sound of alarms and shouting could be heard. With the last of the captured Digimon out of the cages, Davis motioned to Veemon to head out. Quickly, they rushed to the elevator only to find it was already packed and on its way to the surface.  
  
"Now what?" Veemon questioned.  
  
Davis looked around and noticed something. Off to the side was a door with a sign on it. The sign was a picture, a familiar one that practically screamed "THIS WAY". Seeing no alternative, he shrugged. "Lets take the stairs."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Huff...huff...how many more of these ARE there!?!"  
  
"Just keep climbing, Veemon. We're almost there!"  
  
"That's what you said five minutes ago!"  
  
"Then QUIT ASKING!"  
  
Continuing to ascend the spiral stairway, they found themselves getting tired and with no end yet in sight. Apparently the base was much deeper than they realized, but they had to get to the surface quickly or the prisoners would all be taken down by the guards. They had to help. Stopping to catch his breath, Davis looked over at Veemon. "Hey, do you think you could digivolve and get us out of here?"  
  
Veemon shook his head. "Nu-uh...not with all the control spires in place."  
  
"What about armor-digivolving?"  
  
"That might work."  
  
"Lets do this then!"  
  
Five seconds later, Flamedramon took Veemon's place. "Hang on!" With barely any effort, he grabbed Davis around the waist and jumped, passing several flights of stairs with each leap. "Going up!"  
  
Holding on tightly, Davis smiled as the air rushed past him, blowing his hair back. They were going much faster than they had been, and this place must have had 50 floors by the looks of it! Looking up, he could see they were reaching the top. "There it is!" He shouted. Flamedramon nodded and with a final jump, they were at the top of the staircase. "Whew. Thanks Flamedramon. Now lets go help the others!" With that, Davis pushed open the door and ran out into the storage area where they had gotten off the wagon. He skidded to a stop when he realized that there was someone blocking their path to the outside...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Pumpkinmon sighed. 'Damn that warden! Damn this job! DAMN THOSE DARK MASTERS!!!' Yep, it had been another wonderful day of bringing food and supplies to the greedy, selfish Digimon guards who cared more about themselves and gaining power than the good of the world. What a time to be alive. And if you didn't catch the sarcasm there, I am most disappointed.  
  
"Stupid Dark Masters! I'd like to get a shot at one of them! I'd teach them to make Digimon their slaves. Just one hit and they'd be on their knees, crying! Hah!" He threw a few punches in the air, as though imagining that he was really hitting them. "Those humans wouldn't last 5 seconds against a real Digimon like me!"  
  
The door to the stairway slammed open, and Davis dashed out. He came to a stop when he saw Pumpkinmon and stared at him, questioningly. A few seconds later, Flamedramon appeared by his side, looking ready to battle. Scared at actually coming face to face with a Dark Master, or so he thought, Pumpkinmon freaked a bit before falling to the ground, groveling. "Please don't kill me! I didn't mean what I said! I always thought you all did great work here in the Digital World! Really!"  
  
Davis stopped...and stared. "Uh...o...kay..."  
  
At that time, a soft "ding" could be heard as the elevator doors opened and a crowd of rookies, as well as a champion or two, entered the storage area and looked around a bit nervously, expecting to be attacked. "Hey! Is that the last of you?" Flamedramon questioned. Seeing the pair, they seemed a little more confident about the situation and nodded. Though they still didn't trust the two, especially Davis, they did help the Digimon to escape. Sure it could be a trap, but what would they have to gain by setting these captives free? Besides, Wizardmon believed them, and they know they can trust him not to get them into a bind.  
  
Smiling, Davis pointed at the doorway to the hall leading to freedom. "The exits that way. Continue up the hall till you reach the door to the outside! Now hurry before the guards come!" Too excited by the prospect of escape, they didn't bother to even say 'thank you' before making a mad dash out the door. Davis smiled slightly, glancing at Flamedramon. "Lets go. We have to help fight off the guards so they can get away." Flamedramon nodded in response and they headed after the others.  
  
Pumpkinmon couldn't help but stare. "Uh...wait a minute...aren't you two with the Dark Masters?"  
  
Pausing in midstep, Davis turned and looked at him like he was crazy. "Where have you been?"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
Flamedramon grinned. "Haven't you heard? We're the good guys."  
  
"We right wrongs and triumph over evil! And that means the Dark Masters!" The goggled boy paused for a moment. "Geez, that sounded like something from a cheesy anime. Lets go already."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The two made it to the outside and found themselves in the middle of a battlefield. Though weakened from their time holed up underground with little nourishment, the escapees were doing rather well against the guards due to their sheer numbers. Then again, it might be the prospect of finally getting out of that dump that fueled their relentless attacks. Surveying the small-scale warzone, Davis noticed a group of rookies having problems with an Akatorimon. "Flamedramon, looks like they need help!"  
  
"I'm on it!" And with that, Flamedramon left Davis's side and began knocking the stuffing out of the bird Digimon as the rookies cheered.   
  
"Flamedramon, Flamedramon! He's the mon! If he can't do it, no mon con!" How they got the pom-poms and outfits remains a mystery.  
  
Davis stared, Flamedramon nearly fell over in shock and perhaps a little embarassment, and several other fighters took a few seconds out of their current battles to stare in confusion and amusement. Akatorimon, however, only grew angry at the scene. "WHY YOU LITTLE--! I'LL DELETE YOU ALL, STARTING WITH YOU!" At this, he turned to Flamedramon. "AKATORI KICK!"  
  
"FIRE ROCKET!" The attacks met in mid-air, causing, for some reason none of us can get, a dust cloud to appear. When it finally faded, snickering could be heard among the prisoners. There, still in mid-air, was Akatorimon...at least, they could only assume it was Akatorimon. Now...he resembled a thanksgiving day turkey. Flamedramon blinked...once...twice. "Uh...I think your goose is cooked."  
  
Having been watching the whole thing, Davis fell over in shock, then jumped to his feet. "FLAMEDRAMON! Now is NOT the time for bad puns!" Unfortunately, he didn't notice the Aruraumon sneak up behind him.  
  
"NEMISIS IVY!" Davis spun around and caught sight of the plant Digimon that so resembled Palmon, but was too late to dodge.  
  
"DAVIS!" Flamedramon cried and tried to run and get him out of harm's way, but was unfortunately, attacked by a Kiwimon and a Meramon simultaneously, leaving Davis to face the attack alone. He closed his eyes, expecting to feel the hit at any moment.  
  
He did get hit...just not like he expected.  
  
Groaning in pain, he realized three things. One, he wasn't dead. Two, he was on the ground. And three, there was something rather heavy laying on top of him. Opening his eyes, he found something he certainly wasn't expecting. It was Pumpkinmon. He had pushed Davis out of the way just in time.  
  
"Are you all right?" He asked.  
  
"Uh...yeah, I'm fine. But what about you? Shouldn't you be getting the hell out of here?" Davis wondered.  
  
Pumpkinmon stood and shook his head, his determination could be seen shining in his eyes...okay, maybe not considering he doesn't HAVE eyes, but you get the idea. "No way. For the past few years, I've done nothing as the Dark Masters ruined lives and hurt my friends. For once, I'm gonna do what's right!"  
  
"It's your funeral!" A DarkTyrannomon shouted, fixing to trample them when it suddenly found itself lying on the ground and wondering where the pretty birdies came from. Flamedramon stood on top of its head where he landed after kicking it. Smirking, he jumped and landed on one knee a little behind and to the left of Davis, rising slowly and glaring at the guards, all around looking seriously cool.  
  
Davis gave his partner the thumbs up, then turned to face the guards. "All righty then. WHO ELSE WANTS SOME?!"  
  
"Grr...I'll destroy you all!" Came a rough sounding voice from behind them...at the entrance of the building.  
  
Pumpkinmon gasped and spun around, knowing full well who he would see. "It's the warden...Apemon!"  
  
"Uh...are ALL the evil Digimon here at the champion level or lower?" Davis asked Pumpkinmon, quietly so as to not be overheard.  
  
The pumpkin-headed Digimon nodded. "Yeah, the Dark Masters didn't want any really strong Digimon to challenge them, so they have most of the more powerful ones under the control of the dark rings, or weakened them so they de-digivolved to weaker forms, since none were actually willing to be ruled by the humans."  
  
"Huh...is that so?" Flamedramon asked, dropping the cool act for a moment and looking thoughtful.  
  
Apemon was getting pissed. "HEY! DON'T JUST IGNORE ME!!! MEGA BONE STICK!" He charged at them, his weapon raised, preparing for a powerful blow to take them all out.  
  
Flamedramon prepared to defend the prisoners, but Pumpkinmon jumped out before he had the chance. "I won't let you hurt my friends anymore! PUMPKIN SQUASH!"  
  
Apemon fell on back, a pumpkin smashed onto his head, effectively putting him out of commission. Pumpkinmon smiled in triumph while the others stared. Davis blinked...once...twice. "Uh...well...that works." Realizing some guards were still there, they all turned to face their opposition. Davis took a step forward. "Now, are you all gonna make it easy on yourselves and surrender...or are we gonna have to kick your butts to the other side of the Digital World?"  
  
Looking scared, the guards started to back off. Davis grinned, thinking they were winning until he realized just WHY they were backing off. Several of the prisoners began to gasp and a few screamed. Glancing over his shoulder, he caught sight of a Digimon flying towards them rather quickly...a very big and familiar Digimon...  
  
His eyes widened in shock and disbelief. "It's MagnaAngemon!"  
  
Impmon, who was among the few remaining Digimon who had yet to make thier way out of the compound during the fighting, gulped. "Okay...we're dead. We're all dead!"  
  
Davis couldn't help but stare as TK and MagnaAngemon touched the ground. True, he had always considered the blonde as his rival for Kari's heart in the past, but this is a completely different world and neither TK nor Kari were how he remembered them. In a way...it kinda hurt to see TK like this...they weren't just rivals after all. They were friends too.  
  
TK sneered. He didn't wear armor, but instead looked more casual with black pants, white shoes, and a green vest, leaving his arms bare. For some reason Davis will probably never get, he still wore that stupid hat. He "Well, well, well...what do we have here? A human in our world...that's a first, and unfortunately for you, it'll also be the last!"  
  
"How could you do this? Digimon are living creatures! They don't deserve being turned into slaves!"  
  
"Living creatures? This entire world is made up of data, nothing really exists here. So what does it matter what we do?"  
  
"What about all the battles you fought? You saved the Digital World from so many enemies before! How could you just take over the world you tried so hard to protect?" Davis demanded.  
  
"Easy. We were the ones who saved this world...so it is ours to rule!" TK answered with some strange, twisted logic that only he seemed to understand.  
  
The goggled boy shook his head. "Dammit all! Should have known it wouldn't be that easy. But still...I never would have imagined TK could end up like this!"  
  
"He's not the same TK we knew. We never met him so he doesn't know who we are. I hate to say this, but he's not gonna listen to us." Flamedramon stated, sadly.  
  
Davis frowned. Veemon was right...he knew this would have to happen. He never wanted to admit it to himself, but he knew deep down that sooner or later, he would be forced to face the others. 'I have to do this...' He took a deep breath and narrowed his eyes at TK. "Then we'll fight! Blast him Flamedramon!!!"  
  
"You've got it!" Knowing that MagnaAngemon would be a tough opponent to beat, he wasted no time and managed to land a lucky punch due to the fact that MagnaAngemon wasn't expecting an attack so soon.  
  
TK's eyes widened a little in confusion as MagnaAngemon was knocked back slightly, now noticing Flamedramon for the first time. "What? What type of digimon is that?" He narrowed his eyes in anger. 'All digivolution should be blocked due to the power of the ore used to make the control spires! So how can HE do it?'  
  
'Oh yeah...TK and Kari never met up with us newer kids and never found out about the digimentals and how they allow the Digimon to armor-digivolve. Good thing too.' Davis grinned. "You can do it Flamedramon! TAKE HIM OUT!"  
  
"Destroy them all MagnaAngemon! They're not even worthy of existance!" TK ordered. "So there's a new type of digivolution! He doesn't even stand a chance!" With that, he started laughing in an incredibly evil and completely non-TK like way.  
  
"I'll show you!!!" Davis shouted. Not in the mood to just stand around and do nothing as his partner was fighting for his life, Davis charged at TK, fists balled and just waiting to connect with his face.  
  
TK smirked. "Hah! You think YOU can hit me?"  
  
"I'm gonna wipe that stupid smirk off your face!" Davis swore, about to land a hit on TK's face when, to his shock and horror, TK grabbed his arm with one hand, effectively stopping his punch. With the other, he threw a right hook that hit Davis's head, causing him to lose his balance and fall. While Davis was trying to get to his feet, TK pulled out a seriously wicked looking staff similar to Angemon's, though smaller and more lightweight. Blunt though it may be, it would seriously hurt to be hit by it. And it certainly did hurt as TK charged at Davis and socked him in the jaw. While Davis was still in shock, TK moved behind the goggled boy and slammed the rod onto Davis's back, turning as he did to add more power behind the attack. In serious pain, and being unable to feel the lower part of his body, Davis fell to the ground, not moving, but still conscious. He gritted his teeth in pain as TK kicked him, causing him to roll a few feet away.  
  
At the same time, MagnaAngemon had regained his composure and attacked Flamedramon with his sword. Being an ultimate, he quickly gained the upper hand, flattening Flamedramon into the ground with his Angel Rod atack. Smirking viciously, he kept attacking consistently, causing Flamedramon more pain as the ground catered under him due to the pressure.  
  
The fight hadn't even lasted long before the two heros were down. TK and MagnaAngemon were winning, and everyone knew it.  
  
"We have to do something!" Wizardmon exclaimed.  
  
Back with the battle, Flamedramon groaned in pain and weakly opened his eyes, pushing himself up when the barrage of attacks stopped. "I may be down, but I'm not out." He coughed.  
  
"Hah! You can barely stand, much less defend yourself. Heh, looks like the end for you." MagnaAngemon stated, pulling up his sword, preparing to make the final blow.  
  
"THUNDERBALL!"  
  
"Wha...?" MagnaAngemon was shocked to find himself paralyzed as lightning racked his body. "What is this!?!" He demanded, too distracted to pay anymore attention to Flamedramon, who shakely stood on both legs, trying to ignore the pain.  
  
"MagnaAngemon!" TK shouted. Concerned for his partner, he didn't notice a couple of Digimon run over to Davis.  
  
Davis, still dazed from the unexpected blows, didn't notice what was going on around him. He just laid there on his back, looking up at the sky and trying to make sense of his current condition. He didn't snap out of it until two shadows hovered over him, blocking his view. Snapping out of it, he groaned, closing his eyes.  
  
"Come on kid! We need you right now!" Pumpkinmon cried, shaking Davis a bit and causing the boy to wince in pain.  
  
"You have to get up!" Wizardmon.  
  
He sat up, rubbing his shoulder where the worst of the hit was. "Dammit...they're too strong..." Davis muttered through clentched teeth.  
  
"Come on Davis! We can't give up now! All those Digimon are counting on us! I'll keep fighting cuz I know I won't lose!" Flamedramon shouted, seeing his partner in doubt.  
  
His eyes widened upon hearing this. 'He still wants to fight?' Looking over at his partner, Davis smiled softly and nodded. 'If Flamedramon is willing to fight even though our chances are slim...then I will too! Screw the odds! We can do this!' He pumped his fist. "Right! Got get 'em Flamedramon! We're not gonna let some bullies push us around!"  
  
The other freed Digimon smiled upon hearing this, except for Impmon, who just rolled his eyes at this 'sappy stuff'. However, a loud shrieking sound echoed throughout the area, bringing everyone's attention to Davis, who was looking down at his D-3 and D-Terminal in confusion. Right next to the current digimental in use, a second one appeared. "What the?" 'Two Digimentals of Courage?'  
  
At that moment, Flamedramon's armor began to glow. "What's happening?" He demanded. The glowing armor grew and took on a new form. A moment later, the glow faded, and the new Flamedramon was revealed. He was now more muscular and the armor was bigger and covered more of his body, but kept the same flame design. There were plates covering his legs that went from his ankles to an inch above his knees, leaving his feet bare. The chest armor and helmet were like Cooler's in DBZ: Cooler's Revenge after he transformed, but the helmet still kept the original horn and covered the lower portion of his face, leaving his eyes visible. He even had the shoulder guards like Magnamon's, only it spiked up in bit of a curve.  
  
Davis blinked. "Yo Flamedramon...what's with the look?"  
  
Flamedramon shook his head, a bit confused. "I don't know...I just feel...stronger somehow..."  
  
"Well then what are you waiting for? KICK HIS ASS!"  
  
"Right!" The new and improved Flamedramon shot forward and punched MagnaAngemon, knocking him off his feet and snapping him out of his paralysis. Seeing this, Davis smirked and turned back to face TK. They actually had a chance...and they weren't about to waste it.  
  
"If Flamedramon can continue fighting, I can too..."  
  
"Worthless...you don't stand a chance against me."  
  
Davis slowly pulled himself back on his feet. "I..."  
  
"What's that? Ready to give up yet?" TK taunted.  
  
"I WON'T LOSE!!!" Davis shouted, lunging forward. TK charged, staff raised, confident that his unarmed opponent would fall easily.  
  
Uh-huh...right...  
  
It happened so quickly. As the staff came aiming for his head, Davis's hand shot out. TK grinned, knowing that his staff could crack a skull and shouldn't have any problem breaking Davis's hand, and only put more power into the blow. Davis smirked. In a swift move, he grabbed the staff with his left hand, but instead of trying to force it back, he pulled it closer. At the same time, he leaned to the right, so he was just out of the way of the hit. TK, with both hands on the staff to give it added power, couldn't prevent what happened next. With his left hand gripping the staff and pulling TK closer, he grabbed TK's head and pulled him downward while bringing up his left leg and kneeing TK in the gut.  
  
Meanwhile, the new improved Flamedramon was ready to kick butt. Angered, MagnaAngemon attacked with his sword again only for Flamedramon to grab the blade and push back. They were both trying to force the sword back, but neither was able to overpower the other.  
  
The prisoners watched the reversed tug-of-war, silently praying that Flamedramon would pull through. However, even with his power boost, Flamedramon wasn't used to his new form yet, and MagnaAngemon was able to swipe the blade off to the side, causing Flamedramon to lose his balance. He quickly jumped to his feet, though a bit clumsily due to the excess armor. And the Digimon watched, uncertain of the outcome and their fates.  
  
"Welp, we're doomed. Might as well go back into our cages." An Otamamon sighed in defeat.  
  
Well...maybe not so uncertain.  
  
"There's no way Flamedramon can win against MagnaAngemon! We're as good as dead!" One of the prisoners exclaimed.  
  
Flamedramon dodged another blow from MagnaAngemon, giving a kick of his own in return. Growling angrily, MagnaAngemon pointed his sword at the armored Digimon. "I'll send you into the Gate of Destiny!" With that, he began to create the circle that would form the gateway to oblivion.  
  
"Maybe if we grovel enough, they'll just send us back into the mines?"  
  
Impmon growled at that. "NO! I am NOT going through dat shit again!" Impmon shouted, surprising everyone within hearing range. "FUNNEL FLAME!" A ring of fire appeared on the ground in front of Impmon and a fireball rose from the ring and shot towards MagnaAngemon, effectively stopping him from completing the attack.  
  
"Go for the dark spiral on his arm!" Wizardmon yelled. "It's what's protecting him from the ore!"  
  
"DO IT FLAMEDRAMON!" Davis cheered. TK, still in pain from Davis's hits and angered that he would dare to do such a thing, tried to jump Davis from behind. Fortunately, when Davis shouted, he pumped his arm, elbowing TK in the gut, then threw up his fist, not only cheering, but punching TK in the jaw and causing him to fall to the ground face-first, effectively preventing anymore attacks as well. He glanced down at TK's form, smirking before bringing his gaze back to his Digimon.  
  
"FLAME FIST!" With MagnaAngemon still dazed from Impmon's attack, Flamedramon managed to get close enough to land a direct hit on the dark spiral, causing it to shatter and MagnaAngemon's strength to diminish since he was no longer immune to the effects of the dark ore.  
  
"NO! MAGNAANGEMON!!!" Shouted TK, looking up just in time to see the attack.  
  
"TK!" MagnaAngemon cried, flying over to his partner, weakened, but trying to maintain his current form.  
  
"Damn it all. Get us out of here!" TK ordered.  
  
'He's leaving?' Davis wondered, backing up to be out of MagnaAngemon's range. 'Why's he leaving?' That's when he realized what happened. "Wait...I just beat TF! YAHOOOO!!!"  
  
Groaning, TK pushed himself to his knees. "Don't kid yourself, that was a lucky shot. You managed to surprise me this once, but be certain that next time I won't make the same mistake!" At that, MagnaAngemon picked up TK and flew off into the distance until they could no longer be seen.  
  
"Davis, are you okay?" Davis turned to see Flamedramon, a bit scratched, but nothing too serious.  
  
"Yeah! That was some battle Flamedramon!"  
  
Reverting to his normal form, Veemon grinned sheepishly. "I couldn't have done it alone." He turned to face Impmon. "Thanks for helping us!"  
  
Impmon looked away, snobishly. "Yeah right. I only wanted some payback. I wasn't doing it for YOU."  
  
Veemon rolled his eyes. "Gee...thanks..." Remembering that Davis had faced TK alone, Veemon turned to his partner. "What about you Davish? TK didn't hurt you, did he?"  
  
"Not too badly." Davis smiled. "Come on guys! Lets head back!"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"We're baaack!" Veemon shouted once they reached the base. Behind him were Davis, Wizardmon, and Pumpkinmon. All the other prisoners had left earlier to go back to their homes, except Impmon, who just muttered something about not being around to save their butts and took off as well. Where he is, they're not too sure right now, but they do hope he stays out of trouble.  
  
Koromon came bouncing up to them. "You made it! You made it!" He exclaimed happily, jumping into Davis's arms.  
  
Others followed the hyper in-training Digimon, many of which congratulated Davis and Veemon on sucessfully rescuing Wizardmon. Hearing the commotion, Gatomon and Leomon arrived and were glad to see the two unharmed as well.  
  
"Wizardmon!" Gatomon cried, running over to her old friend.  
  
"Gatomon, it's wonderful to see you again!" Wizardmon replied. "Have you been well?"  
  
She nodded, smiling. "Yes, but I'm even better now that you're here and safe."  
  
By this time, Gennai reached them. "Davis, Veemon. It looks like you made it back safely and with Wizardmon as well. I must admit, I had my doubts, but you two have really proven yourselves."  
  
Davis laughed, scratching the back of his head a bit embarrassed. "Heh, thanks Gennai."  
  
Veemon had gotten into telling everyone what had happened, perhaps exaggerating a bit on some of the details when Davis noticed Pumpkinmon walking off alone. Concerned, he followed after the other. A few minutes, maybe more passed as Davis trailed the pumpkin-headed Digimon until they reached a small creek. Pumpkinmon finally stopped by the edge and looked off into the distance.  
  
How long did he just stand there? Davis didn't really know, but getting impatient, he decided to alert the other to his presence. "Something wrong Pumpkinmon?"  
  
Yes, he knew Davis had been following him, so he wasn't surprised when the boy finally spoke. He sighed and looked over at him. "It's just...all that time..."  
  
"You mean when you were working for the Dark Masters?"  
  
Pumpkinmon nodded. "Yeah...all that time, I could have done something...but I didn't."  
  
Davis frowned. "Why didn't you?"  
  
"Because I was scared...but not just for me. You see...I had a friend in there. He was captured...he would have been killed. But I turned myself over to the Dark Masters' service in exchange for letting him live. They did, and he was stuck in that place. I never got to see him, but I had some hope he was still alive, you know? Then today...when all the prisoners escaped...he wasn't there. He was my best friend...and now he's gone."  
  
"How do you know he's not still alive somewhere? Maybe he escaped from that place and went into hiding?"  
  
Sadly shaking his head, Pumpkinmon looked back at the creek. "Because nobody's ever escaped before. They've been deleted, turned, and trapped...but none ever found freedom."  
  
"Except one." Came a new voice. Both turned to see...  
  
"GOTSUMON!" Pumpkinmon shouted, joyfully, as he rushed over and hugged his friend. "I thought you died!"  
  
Gotsumon hugged back. Yes, it was the same Gotsumon that had spoken with Davis earlier before he and Veemon went into the prison and the same Gotsumon who constantly thwapped Davis at their first meeting. "Nope. It'll take more than that to get rid of me." Both friends stepped back, smiling at each other, just happy to meet up again.  
  
Davis smiled as well. 'Heh, it's nice that they finally got to see each other again.' Turning, he headed back to the camp, the two following him. He frowned and looked up. 'But there are still many more Digimon like them under the tyranny of the Dark Masters...my friends...don't worry guys. I'll do whatever it takes to bring you all back.'  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
'Dammit all...how could I lose to someone like HIM!?!' TK demanded as he made his way down the hall towards the main room, Patamon following behind him. When they finally got there, Tai was waiting for them, and he did not look happy.  
  
"What happened?" Tai demanded.  
  
"I don't know!" TK cried. "I went there and found that the intruders were a Digimon I've never seen and a kid!"  
  
"A digidestined? But we've been the only ones for years!" Mimi changed as well. Her hair was still the same honey brown color it was when they were kids, held back in a bun. Her outfit was like Yuna's Lady Luck dress with the somewhat revealing evening gown type dress with slits on both sides, showing off her legs, and yes, even included the headpiece, though not the tattoo. Apparently, she was still not one for close physical combat.  
  
"Well, it's true. And get this, his Digimon can digivolve!"  
  
"That's impossible! The control spires keep the Digimon from digivolving!" Izzy.  
  
"I know that, but he did! It was some new type of digivolution I've never seen before!" TK explained as he set the monitor to show the event. Starting from the breakout, to TK and MagnaAngemon's entrance...to their defeat. All by the unknown boy and his Digimon.  
  
Kari grinned. Now her appearance was much scarier. Her hair had been darkened and lengthened while her eyes had a sort of red glint to them. She wore a different outfit as well, a mix between the Gun Mage dresses of Yuna and Paine, being that the tank top and gloves were much like Paine's and the skirt and boots were more like Yuna's, only instead of magenta and blue, it was dark purple and red. "Ooooh...he's cute..."  
  
"Interesting...it appears that those Guardians have brought in outside help." Matt stated, spitting out the word "Guardians" like it was something vile.  
  
"What should we do?" Mimi.  
  
"Capture him. I want to meet him face to face." Tai ordered, as he turned and began to walk away.  
  
"Tai?" Kari questioned.  
  
Pausing for a moment, he looked over his shoulder at her. "We need to know just who we're up against. I seriously doubt he realizes the entire situation. We may need to...enlighten him..." He smirked, then turned and walked away. A minute passed before Sora headed off after him.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
In an unknown place...  
  
"Are you sure this is the right thing to do?"  
  
"We have forced him into a position he may not be prepared for."  
  
"Even so, we have discussed this and already agreed that this is the best course of action."  
  
"But maybe there is another way that won't require him to make such a sacrifice?"  
  
"It has been proven time and again that the human heart is strong, but to force such a burden on a single person may lead to the very events we hoped to prevent."  
  
"Though that may be, we have already started the chain of events and it is too late to stop now."  
  
One lowered his head, sadly. 'We have once more forced an unimaginable fate on a child.' Without a word to the others, he turned away.  
  
'Our sins will never be forgiven for all eternity.'  
  
********************  
  
Starcatcher: Okay, I know some of this doesn't make sense...here I'll try to explain things.  
  
1. How Flamedramon was able to defeat MagnaAngemon. I'm not trying to make it seem like Davis and Veemon are automatically super powerful and can take down any enemy. It doesn't work that way.  
  
We all know that a regular Armor Digimon is roughly as strong as a champion, while a Golden Armor Digimon is about as strong as an ultimate. Since the Golden Digimental wasn't used, technically Flamedramon shouldn't be able to take down MagnaAngemon. However, in the last chapter, Davis had gotten the other Digimental of Courage, adding it's power to the one he already has. So Veemon recieved a power boost when he armor digivolved to Flamedramon, because Davis used the power of TWO Digimentals of Courage. With that extra power, he able to stand his own against MagnaAngemon, but remember, it also took a bit of help from Impmon to win. So with two digimentals and Impmon's attack added to Flamedramon's, they were able to beat an ultimate.  
  
When the second Digimental of Courage was added, it gave Flamedramon a new form. He did NOT digivolve into a new Digimon, or mode change for that matter. He's still Flamedramon, only with twice the power.  
  
2. How Pumpkinmon was able to take out Apemon without any help. I've looked up information on this and found, to my surprise, that Pumpkinmon is actually an ultimate. So technically, he should be stronger than a champion. Myotismon was also an ultimate, explaining why Pumpkinmon and Gotsumon didn't do so well against him. But even though Pumpkinmon is an ultimate and could probably try to free the prisoners, he couldn't due to the number of guards he would have to fight against and the fact that Gotsumon was trapped in there as well (or so he thought) and would get killed if he tried anything. As for his attack, I'm not sure if it really worked like that, so please excuse me if I'm wrong.  
  
Starcatcher: How was that?  
  
EA: I like! I like!  
  
Davis: (Sighs) Why do I have to do this?  
  
EA: Because you're so cuuute! (Glomps Davis)  
  
Starcatcher: What's the big deal? You did the narration for Digimon Tamers, didn't you.  
  
Davis: Well...I guess...but why do I have to do it? Why not the Announcer Guy?  
  
EA: Gone.  
  
Davis: What? Why?  
  
EA: We fired him...  
  
Veemon: Lucky bastard.  
  
EA: Out of a cannon and into the sun.  
  
All: (Blink, blink)  
  
Davis: And now I'm worried.  
  
EA: Nothing to worry about Davis! I would NEVER do that to you! (Stares at Davis, stars in eyes)  
  
Kari: (Glomps Davis) Back off! He's MINE!  
  
Starcatcher: Eh...this is just getting weird now. Davis, if you don't mind...?  
  
Davis: Uh...sure. Next time on Dark Future, I take a little trip to the real world and run into a few 'real life' problems. Lets just say, I'm really gonna kill Gennai for this.  
  
EA: Don't forget to vote on the polls.  
  
Starcatcher: See you next time.  
  
TK: (Burnt, but still alive) No...more...flames... 


	9. Chapter 8: The Real World

EA: Yay! We've updated! And we're not dead, nor did we mysteriously disappear off the face of the Earth like so many other Daikari writers!

Starcatcher: Thanks for the reviews everyone.

EA: PREZZIES!!! (Looks over list of gifts to torture TK with) Wow...we're gonna need to use some of those. Heh heh heh.

Starcatcher: And the polls so far...

Poll 1: Should the Digidestined gain special powers/abilities?  
Yes - 7  
No - 3

Poll 2: Should we allow the use of different types of digivolution like Biomerging or Spirit evolution?  
Yes - 6  
No - 1

Poll 3: Should the old Dark Masters from Season 1 be revived?  
Yes - 6  
No - 4

Starcatcher: Now for the next chapter.

EA: MEGAMASTERMAIND REVIEWED US! (Dies from shock)

Kari: Yay! (Glomps Davis)

(Bolt of lightning comes out of nowhere and strikes EA.)

EA: (Gasps for air) I can breathe! (Holding up a mallet) I...CAN...BASH!!! (Bashes TK with mallet)

TK: (In pain from mallet, and still somewhat burnt from the previous chapter) Why do you delight in torturing me?

EA: Because not enough people do it. Now get back in the cannon! (Pushes TK into the cannon)

(The cannon goes off, launching TK through the air. Funny, but a stream of smoke follows him, writing out a message in the sky.)

Message: We do not own Digimon or any of its characters.

(TK finally falls to earth, apparently headed for a large tub of water. He hits it and goes through it, for as it turns out, the tub was actually a picture on a billboard.)

TK: (Laying on the ground, in pain) Ooooow...

EA: (Laughing) I never get tired of this.

Davis: You know the Takari fans won't be happy about this...

EA: What Takari fans? Not a single one has flamed this fic! NOT ONE!

Starcatcher: (Sighs and shakes head) Riiight...here's the next chapter.

====================

EA: Before we begin, however, there is mention of rape in this chapter. Fortunately, it's not very graphic, but some people may not wish to read that portion...what little is written about it anyways. So we'll section it off with a line of %%%%% so people who want to skip that portion can scroll past it and continue on with the story.

Starcatcher: And now, let's continue, shall we?

"Wow...you took on TK? And won?" Tenshi inquired, taking a sip of her soda.

"Yeah, weird as it may be, we beat them that time." Davis replied.

"It was so cool! I looked like one of those shogun guys on TV!" Veemon exclaimed.

"I bet Gennai was real happy about that." Lunamon commented.

Davis, however, shook his head. "Not really. We found out later he had made a bet that we would get captured and they'd have to send in someone to resuce us. He was pretty miffed about having to owe Leomon dinner at Digitamamon's Diner."

Tenshi choked on her soda. "You're kidding me."

"Nope." Veemon answered.

"Anyway," Davis stated, clearing his throat. "Gennai explained about Veemon's second form as Flamedramon. It turns out that after I had gotten the second Digimental of Courage in that world, it's power was added to the one from this world, thus in a way, evolving Flamedramon into a more powerful state. It wasn't a second digivolution...but more similar to Imperialdramon's mode change.

"Man...I can only imagine the combined strength of two Digimentals of the same power..." Lunamon said in awe.

Davis chuckled slightly. "After that, Gennai told us we needed training so Veemon could control his second armor form better. I had to train too so I could be able to handle myself in a tough situation. But we weren't all too happy about that idea considering anything could happen while we were off training."

"That was our excuse, but it didn't work when Gennai told us he already thought of that." Veemon sighed. "Apparently, he was gonna send me and Davis to train under Pixiemon in this weird place where time moved more quickly. We stayed there for a bit more than a month, but when we got back no more than a day passed. Some time before, the older kids told us about how Pixiemon had them clean his place, getting no food or rest until they were done. We went through worse. That was one heck of a month."

"I'm still surprised it was only a month." Davis said, frowning. "It felt longer, and we were beginning to think at least a year had passed by the time we were through. I swear, Pixiemon may look cute and cuddly, but he was a slave driver! He started out each day waking us up hours before dawn and making us walk 5 miles up a mountain carrying two lead buckets to get water from a stream. Then we'd have to go around the mountain and make it back to the house by sunrise without spilling any of the water."

"Then he made us chop wood. I had to do it in my rookie stage and he wouldn't let me digivolve." At that, Veemon sent a glare at Davis.

"Hey, if I was gonna have to suffer, then you would suffer with me." Davis chuckled slightly and continued. "Fortunately, I was allowed to use an axe to chop the wood with."

"But I wasn't. I had to use my headbutt till I got a migrane!" Veemon groaned, rubbing his head where the bruises used to be.

"Then I had to carry the wood a mile back to the house." Davis closed his eyes, thinking back.

"What about me?" Veemon demanded.

"Oh yeah. I carried him too." He added, opening his eyes and smirking slightly. "Then we had to swim in a river UPSTREAM till we reached a hilly area where we had to get by a rather large and nasty looking Digimon to get some herbs, make our escape, then head downstream on a canoe. That part wasn't so bad except our arms got tired and we often got caught on the rocks because the layout always seemed to change each time."

"Not to mention we couldn't breathe because that creep stunk up the place so badly. I swear, it was even worse than Davis's gym bag!" Veemon retorted.

"HEY!" Davis cried out, glaring at his partner who just smiled sheepishly. He groaned and leaned back against the seat. "It was torture, but we did get stronger because of it. After the month was over, we were sent back to Gennai's house in the Digital World. It wasn't long before Gennai had me back in the real world, while Veemon..." At this, he sent another glare at the blue dragon.

"I got to have ice cream!" Veemon cheered.

"What happened in the real world?" Tenshi asked, smiling.

Davis sighed and slumped into his seat. "Now THAT...was a day I would never forget...no matter how hard I tried."

####################

A few mornings later found Davis walking through the hallways at the school, grumbling. 'I hate my life...I really, REALLY hate my life.' He looked around the hallway, noticing the stares he was getting and sighed again. 'Why am I here again?' He questioned himself.

-----FLASHBACK!!!-----

"WHAT!?! OH COME ON!!!" Davis shouted.

Gennai just shook his head. "Alternate reality or not, you need to continue going to school."

"But...the Digital World! I have to be here to help protect it and save the others!" Okay, so that wasn't the real reason. But seriously...being in an alternate reality where friends are enemies and two worlds to save...would anyone in this position want to go to school? "I have to stop the Dark Masters!"

"And they happen to go to that school as well, which will give you the chance to keep an eye on them and try to reach out to them there. Not only that, but it might allow you to contact these younger Digidestined and try to convince them to help." Gennai replied.

Davis cursed inwardly. "But to go to school, I need an address and a name and all sorts of information they won't have on me because I DIED! What are we gonna do about that?"

Gennai smiled. "Oh, that's all been taken care of already. What, you didn't think we'd actually try anything like this without being prepared, now did you? You're not getting out of it, Davis. You're going to school and that's final." Man, this guy's thought of everything.

Davis sighed. 'This bites. You'd think that somehow warping to an alternate reality would be an excuse to stay OUT of school...'

-----END FLASHBACK!!!-----

'I'm SO gonna get Gennai for this!' Davis swore to himself, not paying attention to where he was going and ended up running into a wall. Grumbling darkly while rubbing his forehead to ease the pain, he heard someone giggle from behind and froze. His eyes widened in recognition. 'It can't be...' Slowly, he turned around.

There she was. Even in an completely different world, she was beautiful. Her hair was longer, reaching her shoulders, and was a darker brown than he remembered it being in the other world. She wore a pink shirt with white glittering letters reading "Princess", tan shorts, white socks, and white shoes. She was giggling...so similar to how she did before, Davis almost felt it WAS his Kari. But there was something off...her eyes. Sure, they were the same, but they seemed to have a reddish tint, drawing him into their depths where only a spark of the the light she used to be so full of could be seen, almost completely engulfed in darkness. Even if he hadn't been told before about how she had changed, he knew he would have been able to tell anyway...just by looking into her eyes.

She wasn't his Kari anymore.

"Hey, heehee, are you okay?" She asked him.

"Eh...I'm...uh...fine! Just fine! Peachy kean! Fit as a fiddle! Couldn't be better!" He stammered quickly, trying to hide his embarassment. She gave him a weird look and was about to say something else when...

"Kari!" Another familiar voice shouted, causing Davis to freeze. TK came into view, grinning when he saw Kari. He wore a green shirt with white sleeves and jeans. He pretty much looked the same as he did before. He even had that stupid hat. But Davis couldn't help but notice a couple of bruises and scratches he had on his face and arms, as well as a black eye, probably gained during their fight.

"Hey TK." She smiled at him.

TK stopped when he saw Davis, and looked confused. Davis felt a bit nervous under his gaze, wondering if he knew it was him. "Who's this? I don't believe I've seen him around before..."

Davis nearly choked. 'He doesn't even REMEMBER ME!?!' He thought over what happened when he had last met up with TK. 'Maybe he doesn't recognize me?' It's true. Davis did look different than he used to. For one thing, he had gotten his hair cut before the training began, partially due to Gennai's insistance. His hair no longer had that afro-look, but was now more like Kira's from Gundam Seed, only shorter and spikier. He was wearing a blue shirt, denim vest, and tan shorts that went a little below his knees. He wasn't wearing his goggles, seeing as how should any of the new Dark Masters see him, they would be able to recognize the goggles and identify him as their newest threat. Inwardly though, he kind of felt completely exposed without them. 'Okay...maybe I'm a little too attached to my goggles...' He thought to himself.

He cleared his throat. "Hi, I'm a new student. Just moved here." Smiling sheepishly, he tried not to act suspicious. 'I can't believe I'm talking to them like this...on the one side, they're TK and Kari, two of my friends. But on the other hand...they're my worst enemies now. Man, life sure has a way of surprising you.'

Kari raised an eyebrow while TK looked him over, suspiciously. Before either could say anything, the bell rang.

"Come on, we're gonna be late for class." TK told her, taking her hand in his and heading off. Kari followed behind him, but looked back over her shoulder at Davis until they turned around the corner.

With them gone, Davis heaved a sigh of relief. "Well...at least I didn't blow my cover. I'd better get going."

* * *

'Man, when will this day be over?' Yolie wondered, barely listening to the teacher drone on and on. Being one of the lucky few with a seat near the window, she was currently watching the students from gym run the track outside. She sighed. For her, it was yet another dull, boring, unoriginal, my-god-someone-kill-me-already day. She couldn't help but wish that something, ANYTHING would happen.

So caught up in her thoughts, she didn't notice the door open and a figure enter the room. This person walked up to the teacher and handed him a note. After looking it over, the teacher cleared his throat. "Attention class. We have a transfer student from Tokyo."

"Uh...hey. I'm Ryo Reiken." The new student greeted.

"Hello." The rest of the class stated in monotone. Yolie however, froze when she heard his voice.

'That voice...it sounds like...' She slowly turned to face the new student and looked him over. The clothes and hair were different, and he didn't have those goggles, but she could have sworn he was the same weirdo from before. The one who was proclaiming nonsense about a 'Digital World', and creatures that lived there and her being needed to help fight some evil. She forced herself to look him in the eyes and not react as he shifted his gaze to meet hers. When he saw her looking right at him, he smiled slightly, yet it went unnoticed by anyone else. 'This can't be happening...'

"Ryo, if you'll take your seat at the back, we'll continue with the lesson." The teacher gestured to an empty spot in the back and then turned away to face the board.

The boy nodded and headed over to his seat, which was only a few seats behind Yolie. As he passed her to get to his seat, she quickly glanced up at him and was a bit offended when she found he wasn't even looking at her. 'How dare he put me through this and act as though nothing happened!' She thought, angrily.

The rest of the period passed slowly, and though her curiosity was close to driving her nuts, she didn't dare to look back at the boy. Finally, the bell rang, signalling the end of the day. Yolie sighed and got her things together quickly, not wanting to give 'Ryo' the chance to get her alone.

Ryo, however, wasted no time either. He grabbed his bag and was right behind her. "Hey, Yolie!" He reached her and touched her shoulder.

Yolie spun around to face him. "Look, buster! I don't know what game you're playing, but you had better keep your distance before I make you regret ever meeting me!" With that, she turned and stormed off.

He sighed. "That went could have gone better..."

####################

"What happened then?" Tenshi asked, greatly amused.

Davis sighed. "I ran into another familiar face."

"Someone from the original world?" Lunamon guessed.

"Nope. Someone I didn't think I'd ever run into again..." He groaned. "But luck really wasn't on my side that day..."

"Well? Tell us already! Who was it?" Tenshi demanded.

"Remember the kid I mentioned not too long ago? I had completely forgotten about him, but apparently, he never forgot me..."

####################

Well, after failing yet again to try and talk with Yolie, and being unable to find Cody, Davis had figured he should try his luck once more with Ken in Tamachi. The only problem was trying to find Ken before Ken found HIM. He shuddered, not wanting to think of what the bluenette would do if he caught him hanging around so soon after their last encounter. Then again...maybe he wouldn't recognize him with his new look?

"Hey! Hey you! Wait up!" Someone shouted.

Being the only one there, Davis wondered if the person was calling him. Even though he knew no one in the real world knew him, he stopped and turned back anyway to find a boy, maybe only a couple of years younger than himself running up to him, hands on his knees, gasping for air. "Uh...hello?" Davis asked, a bit confused, especially since he didn't recognize the kid. He had dark blue eyes and short light brown hair that was seemed to curl up on the ends, giving him a freakish look.

"Hey, it's you!" The boy exclaimed once he had regained his breath. Davis looked at him questionably, not understanding what he meant. "I never got the chance to thank you!"

"Uh...for what?" To Davis, the kid looked familiar, but he couldn't remember ever knowing him in the other world.

"The other day, you stood up for me. Thank you." He bowed.

It clicked. This was the same boy who Davis had defended from Ken and his goons not too long ago. "Oh yeah, how have you been?"

The kid smiled. "I've been a lot better since that day. I didn't think there were any good people in the world anymore, but you sure proved me wrong. I'm grateful to you."

Davis frowned. "Uh, it was nothing. I couldn't just stand by and let someone get hurt. It wasn't that big of a deal."

"But it was! You saw all those people there. Any one of them could have helped me, but they didn't. You're the only one who's ever stood up for me, and you gave me a reason to keep living." His eyes were shining as he spoke, and tears gushed down his face.

A small smile made its way onto Davis's face. "Don't mention it." He turned and started walking away. "Well, see ya."

"Wait!" The kid called, snapping out of his 'moment' and running to catch up to him. "I've got to make it up to you somehow."

"It's fine. You don't need to do anything."

"No, I really do." Thinking for a moment, the kid snapped his fingers. "I've got it. You're probably still new around here...so how about if I give you a tour?"

"No, that's okay. I wouldn't want to be a bother."

"It's the least I could do." The kid replied, taking Davis by the arm and heading off in one direction leading to one of the many sights. "By the way...what's your name?"

Davis sighed. 'How do I get myself into these things?' Despite his better judgement, he decided to humor the kid. "The name's Davis. What's yours?"

The kid smiled. "I'm Mewt Randell!"

* * *

"...And that's the school, which you probably already know. Across from it is Sakura Park, named for the numerous Sakura Trees there. A lot of people enjoy walking through there because of the scenery." Mewt explained, adding in little interesting details as the tour continued.

When Mewt turned to look back at Davis, the goggled boy simply nodded and smiled. However, once his back turned, Davis nearly fell over. 'Man...why am I here again?' When Mewt had asked to show him around, he only relented to be nice. He didn't think it would last this long! 'If I had known THIS is what I'd be going through, I would have kept running.'

"And that's Chang's Magic Pan Restaurant, the place where most of the students hang out at and get their meals. They have a head chefs who's Chinese and a great cook. Then there are only two other workers there, Joe and Francoise. Everyone often thinks those two are together, but they're both too shy to admit their feelings." Mewt continued.

'Don't care, don't care...'

"And there's the Higurashi Shrine. It has a god tree and a sacred well. There are myths of demon spirits surrounding that place."

'Sooooo bored...'

"Oh! And here's the library!"

'Somebody PLEASE kill me already!'

"And that's the arcade."

"Arcade?" Davis asked, finally interested in some aspect of this tour.

"Yeah, but I don't go in there. That place is Ichijouji's usual hangout."

Davis perked up upon hearing that. 'Ken may be in there!' Grinning widely, he started towards the building. "Lets go check it out!"

"Wait! It's not safe!" Mewt cried.

It was rather busy inside the arcade. Three rows of arcade games were lined up in the middle of the floor, leading up to a larger area where one game, usually the main attraction of the arcade, was stationed. There were many people playing the games or just chatting, and though there were several folks of different ages hanging around, there were more teenagers there than any other age group. Davis looked around the arcade, eyes wide in fascination and awe. Mewt rushed in soon after him and grabbed him by the arm. "Davis, we shouldn't be in here! If Ken finds us..."

"Where is Ken anyways?" Davis wasn't really listening to Mewt, not that he could even hear him well over the loud music and constant chatter of nearby high school girls. 'Where are you Ken?' He wondered, surveying the area until something caught his eye.

There was a growing crowd surrounding one particular game. Curious, Davis headed over. It was the main attraction of the arcade, a stage where two contestants could play the game, but not just any game. Davis gasped. "That's Duel Monsters!"

Mewt nodded. "Yeah...it's a big hit here. And Ken's the best player around. No one's beaten him."

Davis didn't respond, still shocked. 'Ken taught me that game back in my world! He was pretty good...and I got better at it because of him.'

"Hah! You lose!" Came Ken's voice. Davis looked up and realized that Ken was one of the players. He had just beaten his opponent, who was staring at him in shock.

"No way! How could I be beaten so quickly?" The guy demanded.

"Hey, ya snooze, ya lose. Now get out of my sight." Ken ordered. The guy, still upset over his loss, stepped down from the stage and walked off, grumbling. Davis stared.

'Wow...' Davis thought to himself. Ken jumped down from the stage and stood, arrogantly as his many fan crowded around him, congratulating him on another win.

Mewt sighed. "Ken's such a jerk. He acts like he's better than everyone else because no one can beat him at the game. Or anything else for that matter."

Davis frowned. "Huh..." He looked over at Mewt. "Oh well, I wanna get a better look at some of these games."

"Hey! It's you!" Came a shout from behind.

Turning around, Davis groaned when he realized that it was one of Ken's flunkies...and he was talking to HIM! "Yes, it's me. What of it?"

That's when Ken noticed Davis and glared, starting over towards him. "You? I thought I told you not to show your face around here ever again!"

Davis rolled his eyes. "One, you just said I'd be sorry, not to never show my face. Two, at the time you said it 'around here' was at the school, not the arcade. And three, I really don't give a damn about what you say."

Ken raised an eyebrow. "Ooooh...a tough guy, are we? Just what do you think you're doing here?"

"I'm here to have fun with my friend." Davis stated, gesturing to Mewt, who was gaping at him in shock.

'He...called me his friend? In front of everyone?' Mewt wondered in shock.

Ken sent a look at Mewt and laughed. "Him? HAH! You must be pretty desperate if you're willing to be friends with THAT teddy-toting, blankie-hugging loser!" He pushed Mewt to the ground, and laughed even harder.

Mewt blushed in embarassment as others started to laugh at him as well. He wanted nothing more at that moment than to sink into the floor and disappear.

Narrowing his eyes, Davis stepped forward, gaining everyone's attention. "Hey! You can't do that to him!"

Ken glared back. "You're in NO position to tell ME what to do!"

"You can't go treating people this way!" Davis shouted back.

"Says who?"

"SAYS ME!"

Noticing that the workers were preparing to step in, and not wanting to be kicked out of his favorite hangout, he got an idea. "What do you say we settle this with a game of Duel Monsters?"

Davis blinked, surprised. "Huh?"

Ken rolled his eyes and started speaking slowly as though Davis were a two-year old. "We're-going-to-play-a-game-of-Duel-Monsters."

Annoyed, Davis glared at Ken. "I understood what you said, I just don't get why."

"Because...I don't do any favors for people I don't respect. If you want my respect, you have to beat me." Seeing that there wasn't going to be a fight, the workers backed off. Ken noticed this and smirked inwardly.

"Okay, but what if you win?" Davis questioned.

Ken looked Davis over, taking note of his clothes and possessions. His eyes fell on Davis's Digivice. He frowned at it's familiarity, but shrugged it off. "If I win, I get your rarest card, and that device on your belt."

Davis looked down and realized he was referring to his D-3. 'Oh great...he wants my Digivice! If I lose this, I won't be able to go to the Digital World or get back to my own world for that matter! But this could be my chance to get through to Ken, not to mention I'm not sure how much more of this abuse Mewt can take. I might be able to beat him, considering I've played Ken in my world but...' Here, he frowned. 'I've never beaten Ken before, even when he wasn't really trying. So how can I expect to win against him now? If I lose, it's not just Mewt who's gonna end up paying for it, but everyone in both worlds!'

He thought back to all his past duels with Ken in his world. True, he did pretty well, but he could never beat the former genius. Of course, Ken was more of a stratigest than Davis, so he usually had his moves planned out in advance. Like with life, Davis played his cards as they came, and found himself in the lead a few times. But it wouldn't often last very long, because Ken would trap him with some amazing moves and thus, he often lost. So he couldn't help but feel a little discouraged.

'Courage...' That got him thinking. 'Hey, I've got the Digimentals of Courage, Friendship, and Miracles! I've fought the hardest battles of my life against opponents who were seemingly invincible, and still found a way to win! I'm not about to run away with my tail between my legs for something like this! Ken's smarter and more cunning than me, but I know him better than he realizes. And with everything that's at stake, I'm not about to lose!'

Acting as though nothing were wrong, he nodded. "Fine, but if I win, you have to leave Mewt alone."

Ken shrugged. "All right then. I'll leave the maggot alone...assuming you beat me, of course!"

From behind him, Mewt took hold of his shoulder. "Davis! Don't do this! Ken's never lost a game! NOT ONE! I'm not worth losing your rarest card and..." He broke off, not really knowing what the heck the device at Davis's belt was. "Whatever that thing is."

Davis shook his head. "I'll be okay." He smiled inwardly. 'Because I've got a secret weapon Ken can't beat...'

"Hey! Are we gonna duel sometime TODAY?" Ken demanded, having already climbed up onto the platform and had been waiting, annoyed, as they continued talking.

"Don't get your knickers in a twist!" Davis retorted, jumping up onto the platform and facing off against Ken, both starting out with 4000 lifepoints. 'Hmm...note to self. Find out what knickers are.'

After having won the first move, Ken smirked, drawing five cards. "You're in for it now."

"Let's do this!" Davis exclaimed, drawing five cards as well. They were The Dragon Dwelling In The Cave, Warrior Dai Grepher, Mystical Space Typhoon, Gamma the Magnet Warrior, and Kunai with Chin.

Ken smiled when he saw his hand and drew a sixth card. "I play these two face down, and Ryu-Kishin Powered (ATK: 1600 DEF: 1200) in attack mode." He was smirking.

Davis frowned, and drew a card. It was Rush Recklessly. 'Okay...I don't like the looks of either of those face down cards, but I can't do anything about that for now. I'd better not risk anything at the moment.' "I play one card facedown in defense mode, and I'll play another facedown."

Ken rolled his eyes. "What's the matter? Too scared to attack me?"

He didn't react, realizing Ken was just trying to bait him. "Your turn.

At that, Ken drew another card and frowned, thoughtfully. He smirked. "You should have attacked me when you had the chance. Ryu-Kishin Powered! Attack his facedown card!"

Davis grinned. "And you just lost 400 lifepoints!"

Ken gasped as the monster was revealed. It was The Dragon Dwelling In The Cave (ATK: 1300 DEF: 2000). He cursed inwardly as his lifepoint meter went down. "If that's the way you wanna play, then fine!" Ken growled out. "I sacrifice my one monster to set this card facedown in defense mode!"

Seeing the confused look on Davis's face, Ken laughed. "Don't worry, you'll know what it is soon enough, because I now activate this magic card, Curse of Fiend! You know what is does, don't you?"

'How could I forget?' Davis asked himself. 'Ken used that card on me all the time!' "I know what it does. It switches all our monsters from whatever position they're in to the opposite."

"That's right! Which means your dragon is now helpless against my monster. Summoned Skull (ATK: 2500 DEF: 1200)! Attack!"

Ken smirked as the hologram of Summoned Skull easily destroyed The Dragon Dwelling In The Cave. "So do you want to continue, or will you save yourself the embarassment?"

The game was now slightly in Ken's favor, with one monster on the field and 3600 lifepoints left in comparison to Davis, who had no monsters on the field and 2800 lifepoints left.

Glancing up from the area where his monster once stood to where Ken was gloating, Davis growled, annoyed. "I've barely even started!" He drew a card, and upon seeing what it was, smiled. 'This will help!'

"I'll play Gamma The Magnet Warrior (ATK: 1500 DEF:1800)! And I'll now play Rush Recklessly, upping Gamma's attack to 2200!"

"Not so fast!" Ken exclaimed. "I now activate my trap card Magic Jammer! For the simple cost of a single card in my hand, your magic card has been negated!" It was a good move, and he had thought for sure that he had stopped whatever Davis had been planning. Imagine his confusion, however, when he saw Davis smirking!

"Thanks, Ken. I was hoping you'd do that because now I can play Shield and Sword, which swaps the attack and defense of all the monsters on the field! That means my Gamma The Magnet Warrior now has an attack of 1800, while your Summoned Skull's attack is now 1200!"

"I activate my other facedown card, Axe of Despair, and equip it to Summoned Skull, increasing his attack to 2200!" Ken stated, determined not to let his monster be defeated by such a lousy trick.

Davis wagged a finger. "Nah-ah-ah...did you forget about my facedown card?" Flipping the card over, Mystical Space Typhoon was revealed.

Ken gasped. "No!"

"Yes, Mystical Space Typhoon is a quick magic card that can destroy a magic or trap card on the field. So no powerup for Summoned Skull! Now attack, Gamma The Magnet Warrior!"

"What a move!" Mewt gasped as Summoned Skull was destroyed and Ken's lifepoints went down to 3000. Ken was still in the lead, but now Davis had more of a chance.

'What!?! How could he be doing so well against me? I should have already gotten the upper hand by now!' Ken thought to himself.

Davis smiled. "I'll play one card facedown and that'll do it for me."

"You got lucky," Ken growled. He drew another card and smirked. "But that won't save you! I play one card facedown in defense mode, and play another facedown! And that ends my turn!"

Davis frowned as he drew another card, Pot of Greed. 'What's he up to?' He shook his head. 'Better take him out, and fast.' "First off, I play Pot of Greed, so I get to draw two more cards!" Discarding Pot of Greed, he smiled inwardly when he found what the two new cards in his hand were. "I'll summon Warrior Dai Grepher (ATK: 1700 DEF: 1600) to the field! Now Gamma, attack his facedown card!"

As Gamma The Magnet Warrior charged forward, the enemy monster was revealed. Davis gasped. "It's Man-Eater Bug (ATK: 450 DEF: 600)!"

Ken smiled viciously. "That's right. And with his special ability, even though Man-Eater Bug goes to the graveyard, your Gamma The Magnet Warrior will be joining him!"

"But Dai Grepher is still here! Now, attack his lifepoints directly!" Davis shouted, nodding in satisfaction as Ken's lifepoints dropped to 1300.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk." Ken shook his head. "Did you forget about my facedown card? Fortunately for you, it won't do anything to your precious Dai Grepher, but it will make that last attack meaningless. I activate Soul of the Pure, which gives me 2000 more lifepoints." So now Ken's lifepoint meter was up to 3300 while Davis's was still at 2800.

Davis glared. "Then I'll set another card facedown and end my turn."

"Hmm...is that all you have? I thought you were going to be a challenge..." Ken looked at his newly drawn card. 'Perfect. The last one.' He thought inwardly. "Heh, this is it, kid! I summon La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp (ATK: 1800 DEF: 1000)! Now it's over for your Warrior Dai Grepher!"

"No it's not! Reveal trap card, Kunai with Chain!" Davis shouted, flipping over the card. He smirked as the form of La Jinn was chained by the trap card, which Dai Grepher was holding. "Now your Jinn's in defense mode, and my monster is 500 points stronger, up to 2200!"

'Good...all going according to plan.' Ken thought inwardly. "Then I guess it's your move." He said, sounding annoyed.

Davis grinned as he drew another card, Monster Reborn. 'Man...this is easy.' His eyes narrowed. 'Wait a minute...Ken pulled this one on me before. Doesn't he have a powerful monster that he can summon?' He froze, nearly gasping. 'That's right! I remember now. In our past games, he tricked me into letting my guard down and sending all his monsters to the graveyard, which allowed him to summon...' Realizing what his strategy must be, Davis smirked. 'So that's his game...' He looked down at the facedown card on his side of the field. 'Well he'll get a surprise, won't he?'

Ken frowned. 'What's taking him so long?'

Shaking his head, Davis smiled at him. "Okay then, I summon Neo the Magic Swordsman! And now, Warrior Dai Grepher will finish off your La Jinn, while Neo's gonna attack your lifepoints!" He pumped his fist. "And that ends my turn!"

Ignoring the fact that he was now down to only 1600 lifepoints, Ken was grinning maliciously. "You just made a big mistake!" He said after drawing his next card. 'Exactly what I was waiting for!'

Davis raised an eyebrow. "Oh, did I?"

"Yes, because now, by removing three fiend monsters in my graveyard from play, I can summon Dark Necrofear!" Ken laughed, preparing to play the card.

"HOLD IT!" Davis shouted, getting everyone's attention. "I activate my face-down card, Soul Release! It'll remove any five cards in either of our graveyards from play! And I choose to get rid of all three fiend cards in your graveyard, as well as Axe of Despair and Magic Jammer!"

Ken cursed inwardly as he was forced to take the five cards out of his graveyard and put them to the side. 'Dammit, now I can't play Dark Necrofear! It was like he knew what I was planning the whole time!' He growled, angrily. 'Well, that's not gonna stop me!'

"Oh, so you think you're a smart guy, huh? Fine!" He pulled a card out of his hand. "I summon the Fiend Megacyber (ATK: 2200 DEF: 1200)! His special ability allows me to summon him without sacrificing any monsters since you have two monsters more than me on the field."

Davis gulped. 'Okay...so maybe I shouldn't have pissed him off.'

"Oh and that's not all...I activate Raigeki!" Ken shouted.

Gasping in shock, Davis could only watch helplessly as both of his monsters were destroyed, leaving him wide open to attack.

"And we both know what's gonna happen here. Attack, Fiend Megacyber!" Ordered Ken, watching in satisfaction as Davis's lifepoints went down to a mere 600. "Now you only have one turn before I finish you off. Better make it count."

Everyone cheered for Ken, knowing that Davis wasn't going to make it. Mewt watched, fearfully. 'Please, Davis...I know you can do this...'

Davis looked at his hand. 'Man, he's better than I gave him credit for. I have no monsters and no more cards in my hand other than Monster Reborn, which would be useful if it weren't for the fact that there are no monsters in the card graveyard strong enough to take out his Fiend Megacyber. It's all come down to this next draw. Please, whatever higher power that has randomly chosen to screw me over this far...LET IT COUNT!'

He drew the card, eyes cletched shut. Slowly, cautiously, he peeked at the card and nearly fainted. Instead, he chose to let out a whoop of joy. "All right! Looks like I've got a second chance here!"

Ken frowned. "What?"

"I play Graceful Charity!" He smirked as he drew three more cards: Riroku, Meteor B. Dragon, and Change of Heart.

'Meteor B. Dragon can take him out...but I need to sacrifice two monsters to summon it.' He looked at his hand, thoughtfully. 'But maybe there's a better way...'

Ken laughed. "Hah! Face it, loser, it's over! There's no way you can win against me now!" However, he stopped laughing at Davis's misfortune when he noticed the weird smile on the other boy's face.

"Is that so?" Davis asked, cheerfully. "My hand tells me differently."

"What!?!" Ken demanded.

"First off, I have to discard two cards from my hand as is required for Graceful Charity." He took two of the cards and deposited them into the graveyard. "But don't worry Ken, you're about to find out just what one of those two cards was."

Ken froze, suddenly realizing that whatever was going to happen next would not go well for him. "What?"

"Now lets welcome a special friend with Monster Reborn!" Davis played the card. "Meteor B. Dragon (ATK: 3500 DEF: 2500)!"

'But that won't be enough to finish me off...' Ken smirked.

Davis smiled. "And that's not all, because now I activate Riroku, which takes away half of your monster's attack and adds it to my dragon!" So now Fiend Megacyber's attack was down to 1100, while Meteor B. Dragon's went up to 4600. "Meteor B. Dragon! Attack!"

'This can't be happening!' Ken cried out in his mind. His monster was too weak and he had no spell cards on the field he could use to prevent this from happening. Meteor B. Dragon shot it's attack, destroying Fiend Megacyber and taking away the rest of Ken's lifepoints. He couldn't believe it. He had lost.

The hologram of Meteor B. Dragon faded and the duel was over. Everyone was silent, stunned by what happened.

"He...he won!" Mewt stammered, the first to speak. Then after the realization of what happened hit him, he cheered. "DAVIS WON!"

Most of the other people in the arcade were shocked, but soon started to applaude him. After all, Ken was never beaten by anyone before now. The only ones who weren't happy about this were Ken's two goons...and Ken himself.

Grinning sheepishly at his new fans as he hopped back to the ground, Davis then walked over to where Ken was. "Good game, man." He held out his hand to shake with Ken.

Ken, however, only glared at him and slapped his hand away. "What are you playing at!?!" He then spun and stormed out of the arcade, flanked by his two goons who sent Davis dirty looks as they left. Davis watched him leave, silently, no longer noticing the crowd congradulating him or slapping him on the back.

'Ken...' He thought, sadly.

* * *

Soon afterward, Davis and Mewt left the arcade as well. Davis frowned. "What's up with him? I was only trying to be nice."

Mewt sighed. "Well...to tell the truth, Ken's never lost a game before. Not to mention he's not used to people being nice to him. If they are, he expects them to only do so because they want something from him. I don't think anyone's ever tried to be nice to him before for no reason."

Davis looked over at Mewt, shocked upon hearing this. "But surely there's someone...I mean...don't his parents do nice things for him?"

"Well...I don't know everything about it...just what I've heard. But apparently, his parents always favored his older brother, Sam. All their time and effort went to pampering and adoring him. Ken was usually just left in his brother's shadow. Everyone expected him to live up to Sam's genius, and if he didn't prove to be as intellectual as Sam, everyone would just see him as a disappointment." Mewt explained. "And on the other hand, even if he did somehow manage to do just as well as Sam, it still wouldn't matter because Sam was first."

Davis lowered his head, his bangs covering his eyes. 'I remember...in the other world, Sam always overshadowed Ken until he died and Ken was infected with the Black Spore. But after meeting us, he was much kinder and happier. I guess things happened differently in this world and he hasn't gotten over how everyone favored Sam.'

"No wonder he's such a bully." Mewt turned to look at Davis. "I mean, it's probably the only way he feels he can get anyone to acknowledge him, even if it is in a negative way."

Mewt blinked. "Why do you care so much about him? He's a jerk who goes around picking on other people for fun. You don't even know him."

Davis raised his head, smiling at Mewt. "Actually...I know him better than you think." With that, he went through the doors and into the arcade, leaving Mewt standing on the sidewalk, looking on in confusion.

"He knows Ken?"

* * *

Ken fell back onto his bed, glaring up at the ceiling above him. "Damn...how could he have beaten me like that? He made it look so...easy! Like he knew what I would play before I did!"

Little did Ken realize how close to the truth he was. 'I can't believe that happened...the one thing I could do better than anyone, and some chump comes along and makes me look like a fool!' He sighed. 'Life is so unfair.'

Deciding sleep would be the best thing, he turned on his side, facing the wall, and closed his eyes, listening to the quiet and blissful silence around him.

Beep

Beep

Beep

Or at least he would if it weren't for that infernal beeping sound.

Beep

Beep

Ken clentched his eyes shut. 'What's that noise? It's three in the afternoon. I KNOW the alarm isn't supposed to go off...it doesn't sound like the alarm anyways.'

BEEP

BEEP

He pulled the pillow over his head to try and block out the sound as it became steadily louder. Groaning in frustration, he threw the pillow off his bed and sat up, eyes narrowed as he glanced around the room for the source of the sound.

His eyes widened in confusion, however, when he realized the sound was coming from the drawer...the very drawer Sam had locked that strange device in. Slowly, cautiously, he approached it.

BEEP!

BEEP!

BEEP!

The sound was even louder and more high-pitched now, and Ken was just thankful his parents weren't home at the moment. Finally having enough, he picked the lock on the drawer and opened it, revealing the Digivice. The screen was glowing brightly and it was the source of the shrieking sound he had heard. He frowned. "Wait a minute...what happened to it? I know it didn't look like this before..."

His curiosity got the better of him and he picked up the Digivice. The instant he touched it, the noise stopped and the screen lost its glow. Furious, he dropped the device into the drawer, then slammed it shut and stomped back over to his bed. 'It's not mine.' He told himself, angrily. 'Nothing is.'

* * *

Yolie sighed. "Another day down...so many more to go." Really, she hated her life. She kept her hair out of the braid today, instead wore a white headband with the bangs hanging over it, giving her the same style as Moose from Sorcerer Hunters. Considering the warm weather, she had on a bright yellow sundress, navy vest, and brown loafers. There weren't any more customers, so she decided to close for the day. The sun was just staring to set when she headed home.

Pretty soon, she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Turning slightly, she noticed a group of four boys following her. A shady bunch, and not too nice looking either. She didn't like the way they were smiling, and started walking a little faster to get away. After turning a few corners, she found that they were keeping up with her. Scared now, she broke out into a run, and they gave chase. It was late, and there wasn't anyone on the street to help her. She mentally berated herself. In her attempt to get away from them, she had gone to a more run-down portion of the city, where no one friendly was around.

To her horror, another two of the gang were right ahead of her. Seeing nowhere else to run, she ducked into the alleyway to her right, only to run into something. Looking up, she gasped, realizing that the 'something' was a 'someone'.

He was a tall, somewhat chubby kid. He looked dirty and his clothes were full of holes. It appeared like he hadn't bathed in a long time, though it was hard for her to tell if it was him who smelled or the nearby dumpster. He was not at all pleasant looking, and the way he was leering at her didn't help her opinion of him in the slightest.

"Well, well...what have we got here?" She nearly retched at the smell of his rotten breath.

"Quite a cutie boss, though not too bright." One of the ones who chased her smirked. Yolie spun around only to find that the entrance to the alley was now blocked by the rest of the gang. She had no way to escape.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"Well boys, looks like we've got ourselves a new toy..." The big guy in front of her, their Boss apparently, grabbed her and pulled her towards him to get a better look at her. He smiled cruelly.

"P-please..." She tried to beg, but was too overwhelmed with fear to speak properly. She gasped when she felt several fat, grimey fingers taking hold of her vest and trying to shift it off her shoulders. At that instant, she realized what was going to happen.

Whether it was courage or fear that made Yolie act, she wasn't certain. All she cared about at that moment was getting away. Hitting Boss with her purse, she got out of his grip and tried to run, only to be pushed back by the rest of the gang.

The Boss stood, glaring at her for a moment for trying to get away. That's when he started to grin, in a horribly cruel way. "Lets have a little 'fun', boys." Yolie was backed against the wall as the guys surrounded her. There was no way out, and she couldn't fight them.

She had to try something! Anything! "HELP ME! SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP ME!" She screamed, but they laughed, knowing that it was useless.

Annoyed, the Boss slapped her. "Shut up, bitch. No one's gonna help you."

Yolie whimpered, realizing it was true. 'Oh God...please...please someone...help me...' She inwardly prayed.

The Boss tore off her navy vest, then started pulling down the straps on her dress to expose her chest. Yolie flinched at the cold air that now hit her skin. 'Please...'

The boys whistled and jeered at her while Boss reached forward to touch her...

%%%%%%%%%%(Okay, the worst is over people.)%%%%%%%%%%

"Hey! Didn't your mother ever teach you to treat a lady with respect?" A voice cut in. The gang turned to face the newcomer. They glared at the guy. Yolie couldn't see him since he was hidden from her view behind the gang members, but the voice sounded so familiar.

The leader growled. "It's not any of your business. Just leave now and we won't hurt you."

"I've got a better idea. You guys back off and leave her alone and I won't pound your faces in and leave you for the police." Angry that some punk actually thought he could beat them, they all jumped him. Yolie curled into a ball, pulling up her dress and holding herself to cover her chest. She clentched her eyes shut, hoping that she would make it out of this okay. She could hear the sounds of fists hitting flesh, and feared for the guy who tried to help her. Then there was the sound of someone picking up something heavy and apparently made of metal. A swoosh, clunk, and groan followed...then silence.

She was about to look, but heard footsteps headed towards her, and cringed. She flinched at the hand that reached out and touched her shoulder. "Hey...are you okay?" Her eyes opened wide, and she turned to face the scene. The gang members were on the ground, all knocked out. The one who had kneeled next to her was the guy who had tried to help. Looking up at him, her eyes widened further. She now knew why she recognized his voice. It was 'Ryo'. He had a black eye and what looked like several bruises and scratches, but he was okay. "Yolie? Are you all right?"

That's when the reality of the situation hit her. She cried. Unsure of what to do, Ryo gently wrapped his arms around her in a hug. She accepted the comfort and leaned into him, sobbing onto his shirt. "Shh...it's okay. They can't hurt you now." Carefully, he picked her up and carried her from the scene, princess style, as the tears continued to cascade down her face. He didn't say anything to her, but just let her cry. Yolie didn't know how much time passed, but suddenly found herself on her feet in front of her apartment. "This is your place, right?" He asked her. She nodded, still out of it, so he rang the doorbell and informed her family of what happened. They immediately got her inside and called the police to pick up the boys, after which, they realized that Ryo had disappeared.

Later, curled up in bed, she thought over what had happened. (Nothing hentai here people) 'Ryo...he...saved me...he didn't have to do anything. He could have just walked away, but he protected me.' She smiled, blushing slightly. 'He's just like a knight in shining armor...' Remembering the feeling of being in his arms, she blushed again before turning out the lights.

* * *

With a heavy sigh of relief, Davis slumped to the floor of Gennai's house after having finally arrived through the Digi-port in his computer there. Veemon, who had been scarfing down food at the time, stopped to glance over at him before shrugging and going back to his meal. Gennai entered the room, and upon noticing Davis, smiled down at him. "Ah, you're back. Did you enjoy the trip?"

Davis weakly looked up at Gennai. "I hate you, Gennai...I really do."

Veemon walked over to his partner. "Davish? What happened?"

Getting to his feet, Davis headed over to the table where a place had already been waiting for him. He sighed and sat down. "Lesse...I made Yolie mad some more...met up with Mewt, who I defended against Ken the last time I was there. Oh, then we went to an arcade, where I won a game of Duel Monsters against Ken. Then I ran into Yolie and saved her from a bunch of gang members."

Gennai raised an eyebrow. Veemon blinked. "Wow...sounds like you had quite the adventure."

"Yeah..." Then a growl came from his stomach. "So, what's for dinner?"

Everyone face faulted.

====================

Starcatcher: And thus we end the chapter on a more humerous note.

EA: (Gives Starcatcher a "look") Gee...Yugioh on the brains much?

Starcatcher: (Laughs) Couldn't help it. I was looking over the cards and started to wonder what types of decks Davis and the others would have. Then I figured I could probably use it in the story, and what better part to use it than here?

EA: (Shrugs) Whatever.

Starcatcher: As for the reviews...

--------------------

Anthony - Heh, thanks Anthony. I'll be sure to use some of them.

Ran Hoshino - 1. Looking up info on the show revealed that a regular Armor-Digimon is about as powerful as a champion, while a Golden Armor-Digimon is about as powerful as an ultimate. Though if what you said was true and Flamedramon might have been strong enough to beat MagnaAngemon without the power boost, it would have made it look as though Davis and Veemon are super powerful and unbeatable, which is what I'm trying to avoid. 2. You've got a point there, but remember, he was also wearing a dark spiral. It wasn't to control him, but to protect him from the effects of the dark ore and control spires in the area as well as power him up somewhat. Thank you for the compliment, though they might not get any powers depending on the wishes of the readers. And Alforce Veedramon, huh? Hmm......evil grin

Lavos, The Time Apocolypse - 1. Veemon couldn't have just digivolved. For one thing, the dark ore prevented it. For another, even if he did digivolve normally, he wouldn't have been able to go past champion yet, and therefore couldn't have beaten MagnaAngemon. 2. Maybe...maybe not... 3. I'll leave that up to the readers. Checking the info on Alforce Veedramon, it sounds pretty cool, but I'm gonna give the readers the chance to decide. And just to avoid any future arguments, it is true. There is no level beyond mega. Even Omnimon is still a mega, just an extremely powerful one. 4. lol 5. Hmm...eh, why not? Just as soon as I can find anyone good enough... 6. I'll keep that in mind.

Yami Silverdramon - Yes, yes it does.

niner - Don't feel bad. The polls aren't closed yet.

Dukect45 - (Bows) Thank you, thank you.

Muka - They MIGHT be good...depends on if the reviewers vote to bring them in.

Marshmellow13Dragon - No, it's not too late yet to vote on the polls. And for the most part, this story will be Davis and Veemon's recounts of what happened at that time, but there might be an interuption...

Puppkid - Kidnapping? Hmm...

Dude - Ooooooo...now that's something to think about...

Megamastermaind - Wow...another accomplished author has reviewed this fic! And a Kingdom Hearts fan as well! Are you ever gonna continue your fics? They're really good.

duskmon - Thank you, thank you. We love to keep our readers in suspense. And yes, for the sarcastic reply: Life isn't a witty statement. So you don't get one.

--------------------

Starcatcher: And for those of you who were worried, the polls are still open and two new others have been added.

Poll 1: Should the Digidestined (both good and evil) gain special powers/abilities?

Poll 2: Should we allow the use of different types of digivolution like Biomerging or Spirit evolution?

Poll 3: Should the old Dark Masters from Season 1 be revived?

Poll 4: Should the Digidestined (both good and evil) all get weapons? (Feel free to make suggestions on the weapons)

Poll 5: Should Alforce Veedramon be included? Either by having Veemon digivolve or as a different character entirely?

Davis: Hmm...sword or halberd...decisions, decisions...

Starcatcher: And next time...

Narration: Next time on Dark Future, Yolie finally decides to give Davis a chance and help him out, which is a good thing considering there's trouble in the Digital World. Things go from bad to worse when Cody follows them and the Dark Masters have a trap just waiting for Davis and the others to fall into. With Yolie and Cody helpless, will Davis and Veemon be able to protect everyone long enough for the two newest Digidestined to get their Digimon? Find out in the next chapter of "Dark Future"!


End file.
